Sonia Sotomayor will, if approved by Congress, only be the second woman on the current trending-conservative Court, and third woman ever. Read all about it at The New York Times. She would be our first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice ever, if approved! If approved, Sotomayor would serve for life—making this one of Obama’s most important, lasting decisions (whether he serves for four or eight years himself). Excerpt from NY Times.com:

…A more centrist Republican, Senator Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, said she was pleased that President Obama had chosen a well-qualified woman. “I share the view that the proper role of the judiciary is one of interpreting the Constitution and acts of Congress, not legislating from the bench,” said Senator Snowe. “As such, I will carefully evaluate Sonia Sotomayor’s record and temperament in making my determination.”

Judge Sotomayor, 54, who has served for more than a decade on the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, based in New York City, would become the nation’s 111th justice, replacing David H. Souter, who is retiring after 19 years on the bench. Although Justice Souter was appointed by the first President George Bush, he became a mainstay of the liberal faction on the court, and so his replacement by Judge Sotomayor likely would not shift the overall balance of power…

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Official info re Sotomayor:

Judge Sotomayor has made the American dream her own.

Born and raised in a South Bronx public housing project to Puerto Rican parents, Sotomayor has distinguished herself in academia, as a big-city prosecutor, and as a leading figure on the federal bench. If confirmed, Judge Sotomayor would start with more federal judicial experience than any new Justice in 100 years.

First appointed to the Federal District Court by President George H.W. Bush, and then elevated to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals by President Bill Clinton, Judge Sotomayor is widely admired as one the finest legal minds in America today. As a trail-blazing Latina whose career has spanned nearly every aspect of the law, Judge Sotomayor will show fidelity to the Constitution while bringing to the Court a common sense understanding of how our laws affect the daily realities of people’s lives.