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After weeks of deliberations, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, a native of Bronx, New York who comes from a humble background has been confirmed today, August 6, 2009, as the first Hispanic woman associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. In a majority of 68-31 votes in the senate, the 55 year-old Princeton and Yale alumna becomes the third woman and 111th jurist to serve on the bench, replacing Justice Souter who is retiring.

The unprecedented ascendancy of Sotomayor is met with pride by Hispanics especially those from Puerto Rico from where her parents originated. Chosen by the liberal Democrat-dominated senate majority, Americans can only hope that she does her job well and her ethnicity will not play a role in her legal decisions. (Photo Credit: erickgeee) =0=

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