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Birth and Early Life
Sonia Maria Sotomayor was born on June 25, 1954, in Bronx, New York. Shortly before Sonia was born, her parents had moved from San Juan, Puerto Rico to New York. She was raised in a housing project for low-income families. At eight years old, Sotomayor was diagnosed with type one diabetes and began taking daily insulin injections. When Sonia was nine years old, her father died at age 42 with heart problems. Her mom had to work long hours as a nurse and a telephone operator to support the family -
College
Sotomayor went to Princeton University on a full scholarship. There were few women and very few Latinos (about 20). She graduated in 1976. -
Marrige
Soon after graduating from Princeton, Sotomayor married Kevin Edward Noonan, on August 14, 1976. They got married in a small chapel in Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York. Sonia used the married name Sonia Sotomayor de Noonan. Kevin later became a biologist and a patent lawyer. -
Law School
In the fall of 1976, Sonia entered in Yale Law School, again on a scholarship. There were also very few Latinos there. Sonia was known as a hard worker. She became the editor of the "Yale Law Journal", and was also managing editor of the student-run" Yale Studies in World Public Order" publication, but is now known as "Yale Journal of International Law". In 1979, Sonia was awarded her law degree from Yale. -
Start of Legal Career
Sotomayor was hired as assistant district attorney under New York County District Attorney Robert Morgenthau in 1979. In 1980, Sotomayor was admitted to the New York Bar, enabling her to practice law in the state of New York. 10. Sonia worked in the trial division, and handled heavy caseloads as she prosecuted everything from shoplifting and prostitution, to robberies, assaults, and murders.Sonia helped convict the "Tarzan Murder" case, ("Tarzan" acrobatically entered apartments, robbed them -
Divorce
Sonia and Noonan divorced in 1983. They did not have children. Sotomayor says that the pressures of her working life were a factor, but not a major one. -
U.S. District Court Nomination
Sonia was nominated on November 27, 1991 to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by George H. W. Bush. 15. Sotomayor became the youngest judge in the Southern District and the first Hispanic federal judge in New York State. Sonia was the first Puerto Rican women to serve as a judge in a U.S. Federal Court. -
U.S. Court of Appeals Nomination
On June 25, 1997, Sotomayor was nominated for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit by President Bill Clinton. -
Supreme Court Nominee
On April 30, 2009, Justice David Souter's retirement plans leaked to the media, which caused early attention for Sonia as a nominee for the Supreme Court. -
Supreme Court Nomination
On May 26, 2009, President Barak Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. She is currently serving as a Justice.