Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice

Biography of Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice

Nominated: President Barack H. Obama

Took Seat: August 8, 2009

Bio of Justice Sonia Sotomayor from the Supreme Court

Born in Bronx, New York, on June 25, 1954.

She earned a B.A. in 1976 from Princeton University, graduating summa cum laude and receiving the university’s highest academic honor. In 1979, she earned a J.D. from Yale Law School where she served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal.

She served as Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office from 1979–1984. She then litigated international commercial matters in New York City at Pavia & Harcourt, where she served as an associate and then partner from 1984–1992.

In 1991, President George H.W. Bush nominated her to the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, and she served in that role from 1992–1998.

She served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1998–2009.