The life of Sonia Sotomayor

Newly sworn-in U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor (L) is congratulated by Chief Justice John Roberts (R) after taking the Judicial Oath as her brother Juan Luis Sotomayor looks on in the East Conference Room in Washington August 8, 2009. Sotomayor is the first Hispanic and the third woman to serve in the history of the 220-year-old Supreme Court. REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES POLITICS)

epa01793349 Supreme Court justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor takes her seat as she arrives for the hearing on her nomination as a Supreme Court justice on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, USA, 13 July 2009. Sotomayor is the first Hispanic to be nominated to the highest court in the United States. EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, right, meets with Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 9, 2009. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, D-Nev, wears a button on his lapel that said \"Sonia\" at a news conference with Hispanic leaders to promote Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 4, 2009. Reid said he wouldn't impose an \"arbitrary deadline\" on Sotomayor's confirmation, but added, \"We're going to do this as quickly as we can.\" Sotomayor, who would be the first Hispanic and the third woman to serve on the high court. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

FILE - In this June 8, 2009 file photo, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor laughs after she was offered a pillow and a bag of ice by Sen. David Vitter, R-La., before their meeting on Capitol Hill, in Washington. A reader-submitted question about whether the public in other Western democracies pay the same amount of attention to high court appointees, is being answered as part of an Associated Press Q&A column called \"Ask AP\". (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

US President Barack Obama stands alongside his nominee for Supreme Court Justice, Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, May 26, 2009. Sotomayor is to serve as the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court. AFP PHOTO / Saul LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON - MAY 26: In this handout image provided by The White House, Celina Sotomayor, mother of Appeals Court Judge Sonya Sotomayor, cries during the announcement by President Barack Obama that she is the nominee to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter, in the East Room of the White House May 26, 2009 in Washington, DC. If approved by the U.S. Senate, Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic and the thrid woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court. Sotomayor currently sits on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, based in New York. (Photo by Pete Souza/The White House via Getty Images)

US President Barack Obama walks alongside his nominee for Supreme Court Justice, Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor, and US Vice President Joe Biden in Cross Hall prior to introducing Sotomayor in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, May 26, 2009. Sotomayor if confirmed, will serve as the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court.AFP PHOTO / Saul LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

UNSPECIFIED - UNDATED: In this handout image provided by The White House on May 26, 2009, Judge Sonia Sotomayor poses with her mother Celina Sotomayor in this undated photograph. If approved by the U.S. Senate, Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic and the third woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court. Sotomayor currently sits on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, based in New York. (Photo by The White House via Getty Images)

In this May 25, 2007 photo, Judge Sonia Sotomayor receives an honorary degree, conferred by Vice Chair Emerita of the Board of Trustees, Patricia Hanna, left , during the commencement ceremony at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston. (AP Photo/Northeastern University, Craig Bailey) **NO SALES**

In this May 2003 photo released by Pace University, judge Sonia Sotomayor delivers the 2003 commencement address in White Plains, N.Y. President Barack Obama chose federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor to become the nation's first Hispanic Supreme Court justice on Tuesday, May 26, 2009, praising her as \"an inspiring woman\" with both the intellect and compassion to interpret the Constitution wisely. (AP Photo/Pace University) **NO SALES**

NEW YORK - UNDATED: In this handout image provided by The White House on May 26, 2009, Judge Sonia Sotomayor visits students at her alma mater, Cardinal Spellman High School, in the Bronx Borough of New York City. If approved by the U.S. Senate, Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic and the third woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court. Sotomayor currently sits on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, based in New York. (Photo by The White House via Getty Images)

FILE - In this Oct. 14, 1998 file photo, federal judge Sonia Sotomayor poses by her office window in New York overlooking the old Federal Courthouse on Foley Square. President Barack Obama tapped Sotomayor for the Supreme Court on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 officials said, making her the first Hispanic in history picked to wear the robes of a justice. Two officials described Obama's decision on condition of anonymity because no formal announcement had been made. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

epa01743061 Undated White House handout photo of Judge Sonia Sotomayor with niece Kylie Sotomayor in upstate New York. US President Obama nominated Judge Sotomayer,54, to the U.S. Supreme Court. If confirmed, Sotomayor will succeed retiring Associate Justice David Souter and would become the first Hispanic-American to serve on the Supreme Court. EPA/THE WHITE HOUSE / HANDOUT NO SALES, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

This 1976 photo, supplied by Princeton University, shows Princeton University senior Sonia Sotomayor, who was chosen by President Barack Obama to become the nation's first Hispanic Supreme Court justice on Tuesday, May 26, 2009. The Princeton graduate, went on to Yale Law School. She is a former prosecutor and private attorney, and became a federal judge for the Southern District of New York in 1992. She became an appeals judge in 1998 for the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.(AP Photo/Princeton University)

epa01743064 White House handout photo of Judge Sonia Sotomayor's Princeton 1976 yearbook page. US President Obama nominated Judge Sotomayer,54, to the U.S. Supreme Court. If confirmed, Sotomayor will succeed retiring Associate Justice David Souter and would become the first Hispanic-American to serve on the Supreme Court. EPA/THE WHITE HOUSE / HANDOUT NO SALES, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

UNSPECIFIED - UNDATED: In this handout image provided by The White House on May 26, 2009, Judge Sonia Sotomayor is seen in a cap and gown for her eighth grade graduation. If approved by the U.S. Senate, Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic and the third woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court. Sotomayor currently sits on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, based in New York. (Photo by The White House via Getty Images)

UNSPECIFIED - UNDATED: In this handout image provided by The White House on May 26, 2009, Judge Sonia Sotomayor is seen at the age of six or seven years old. If approved by the U.S. Senate, Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic and the third woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court. Sotomayor currently sits on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, based in New York. (Photo by The White House via Getty Images)

In this handout image provided by The White House on May 26, 2009, Judge Sonia Sotomayor is seen with her mother Celina Sotomayor and father Juan Luis Sotomayor. If approved by the U.S. Senate, Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic and the third woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court. Sotomayor currently sits on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, based in New York. (Photo by The White House via Getty Images)