Sonia Sotomayor

Sonia Sotomayor is an American Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court who is best known for being the Court’s first Hispanic and Latina member. Sonia was raised in The Bronx by her widowed mother for many years and has now risen to become one of the most important characters in politics.

President Bill Clinton, President Barack Obama, and President George H. W. Bush are among the former presidents who have nominated her. In US legal history, her service on the boards of directors of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, the State of New York Mortgage Agency, and the New York City Campaign Finance Board has been lauded.

Sotomayor was known and admired during her time on the Supreme Court for her concern for the rights of defendants, advocacy for criminal justice reform, and speaking out on problems of race, gender, and ethnic identity. From 1998 to 2007, she was also an adjunct lecturer at New York University School of Law.

Sonia Sotomayor’s Net Worth:

Sonia Sotomayor earns a nice living as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Sonia began her career as an assistant district attorney in New York in the late 1970s and has since grown to become one of the most powerful women and recognized personalities in American political history.

Her main source of income is undoubtedly her government employment, which has given her a net worth of around $8 million and a salary of up to $600,000. In addition, her book, “My Beloved World,” was published in 2013.

What is Sonia Sotomayor Famous for?

  • As an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, he is well-known.
Sonia Sotomayor with her parents. (Source: @wikipedia)

Where is Sonia Sotomayor From?

Sonia Sotomayor was born on June 25, 1954, in New York City, New York City, New York City, New York City, New York City, New York City, New York City, New York City, New York City Sonia Maria Sotomayor is her given name. Her country of origin is the United States of America. Sotomayor is of Puerto Rican descent, and her zodiac sign is Cancer.

Sonia Sotomayor is the eldest child of Juan Sotomayor (father) and Celina Baez (mother) (mother). Juan, her father, worked as a tool and die worker because he only had a third-grade education, while Celina, her mother, worked as a telephone operator and eventually as a practical nurse (during World War II).

Sonia and her younger brother, Juan Sotomayor, grew up in Puerto Rican communities in the South and East Bronx, where he subsequently became a physician and university professor. Her alcoholic father, on the other hand, died when she was 9 years old from heart difficulties at the age of 42, leaving her and her brother to be reared completely by their mother.

Sotomayor went to Blessed Sacrament School in Soundview and worked at a local retail store and a hospital during her stay there. She then transferred to Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx, where she became a member of the student government.

She received a full scholarship to Princeton University after graduating as valedictorian in 1972. In 1976, she received her summa cum laude from the University after a four-year term. In 1979, she earned her Juris Doctor from Yale Law School, where she also worked as an editor for the Yale Law Journal.

In 1979, she was employed as an associate district attorney by New York County District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, shortly after graduating from law school.

Highlights of Sonia Sotomayor’s Career:

  • Sonia Sotomayor began her career as an assistant district attorney in New York, where she worked for four and a half years.
  • She returned to private practice in 1984, joining Pavia & Harcourt’s commercial litigation practice division in Manhattan as an associate.
  • She was then appointed to the State of New York Mortgage Agency’s board of directors (1987-1992) and to the New York City Campaign Finance Board, where she served for four years from 1988.
  • She served on the board of directors of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund for 12 years, from 1980 to 1992.
  • From 1985 to 1986, she was a member of the Maternity Center Association’s board of directors.
  • President George H. W. Bush nominated her to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in 1991. With the appointment, she became the Southern District’s youngest and first Hispanic judge.
  • President Bill Clinton nominated her to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1997. The Republican majority in the United States Senate hindered her nomination, but she was eventually confirmed in 1998.
  • Sotomayor served on the Second Circuit for eleven years, hearing appeals in over 3,000 cases and writing over 380 opinions.
  • She gave the annual Judge Mario G. Olmos Memorial Lecture, titled “A Latina Judge’s Voice,” at UC Berkeley School of Law in October 2001.
  • Sotomayor served on a three-judge panel in Doninger v. Niehoff in 2008, as well as a three-judge court in Maloney v. Cuomo in the Second Circuit.
  • President Barack Obama nominated her to the Supreme Court in May 2009, and she was confirmed by a vote of 68-31.
  • Sotomayor has always sided with the informal liberal bloc of justices on the court when it comes to dividing the court along ideological lines.
  • Schuette v. BAMN, Utah v. Strieff, and Trump v. Hawaii are among the cases and landmarks to which she has been subjected.
  • She was the first United States Supreme Court justice to do such functions on December 31, 2013, when she started the 60-second countdown at the Times Square New Year’s Eve ball drop.
  • In January 2021, Sonia revealed that Kamala Harris will be sworn in as the United States’ Vice President, making her the first woman and the first Black person to hold the role.

Honors & Awards:

  • Twelve universities have bestowed honorary law degrees on him.
  • The Outstanding Latino Professional Award was given to him, as well as the Woodrow Wilson Award.
  • Katharine Hepburn was awarded the Katharine Hepburn Medal.
  • The National Women’s Hall of Fame has inducted her.

Husband of Sonia Sotomayor:

Sonia Sotomayor has only been married once in her life. Sonia’s sole marriage was to Kevin Edward Noonan, her high school sweetheart. On August 14, 1976, shortly after graduating from Princeton University, they married in a modest chapel at New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Because they were both too young to marry, their marriage only lasted for seven years, until 1983. They didn’t have any children.

She even went by the marital name “Sonia Sotomayor de Noonan” at the time. Kevin is currently employed as a scientist and a patent attorney. She got engaged to New York construction contractor Peter White in 1997, over 14 years after her divorce, but their romance didn’t survive long, as it dissolved in 2000.

Height of Sonia Sotomayor:

Sonia Sotomayor is a stunning woman in her 60s with an average body type. She stands at 5ft. 6inches tall and weighs approximately 75kg. Her complexion is brown, and she has black hair and brown eyes. She had also been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of seven, for which she had been receiving daily insulin injections.

Quick Facts About Sonia Sotomayor

Celebrated Name Sonia Sotomayor
Age 67 Years
Nick Name The Wise Latina
Birth Name Sonia Maria Sotomayor
Birth Date 1954-06-25
Gender Female
Profession Attorney
Birth Nation United States
Place Of Birth New York City, New York
Nationality American
Ethnicity Puerto-Rican
Horoscope Cancer
Famous For Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Father Juan Sotomayor
Mother Celina Baez
Siblings 1
Brothers Juan Sotomayor
School Blessed Sacrament School
High School Cardinal Spellman High School
University Princeton University
Education summa cum laude
Educational Qualification Juris Doctor Degree
Marital Status Divorced
Married Date August 14, 1976
Husband Kevin Edward Noonan(1976-1983)
Children None
Net Worth $8 million
Salary $600k
Body Type Average
Height 5ft. 6inch(1.68m)
Weight 75kg(165 lbs)
Hair Color Black
Eye Color Brown
Sexual Orientation Straight