Sonia Maria Sotomayor (IPA-en?so?nj? ?so?to?ma??j?r, IPA-es?so?a sotoma??orlang; born June 25, 1954) is an Associate Justice (Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States) of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving since August 2009. Sotomayor is the Courts 111th justice (List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States), its first Hispanic (Hispanic and Latino Americans) justice, and its third female justice.

Sotomayor was born in The Bronx, New York City and is of Puerto Rican (Puerto Rico) descent. Her father died when she was nine, and she was subsequently raised by her mother. Sotomayor graduated with an A.B. (Bachelor of Arts), summa cum laude, from Princeton University in 1976 and received her J.D. (Juris Doctor) from Yale Law School in 1979, where she was an editor at the Yale Law Journal. She was an advocate for the hiring of Latino faculty at both schools. She worked as an assistant district attorney in New York for five years before entering private practice in 1984. She played an active role on the boards of directors for the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (LatinoJustice PRLDEF), the State of New York Mortgage Agency, and the New York City Campaign Finance Board.

Sotomayor was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (United States District Court for the Southern District of New York) by President (President of the United States) George H. W. Bush in 1991, and her nomination was confirmed in 1992. In 1995, she issued a preliminary injunction against Major League Baseball which ended the 1994 baseball strike (1994-95 Major League Baseball strike). Sotomayor made a ruling allowing the Wall Street Journal (The Wall Street Journal) to publish Vince Fosters final note. In 1997, she was nominated by President Bill Clinton to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Her nomination was slowed by the Republican (Republican Party (United States)) majority in the Senate, but she was eventually confirmed in 1998. On the Second Circuit, Sotomayor heard appeals in more than 3,000 cases and wrote about 380 opinions. Sotomayor has taught at the New York University School of Law and Columbia Law School.

In May 2009, President Barack Obama nominated (Sonia Sotomayor Supreme Court nomination) Sotomayor for appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court (Supreme Court of the United States) to replace retired Justice David Souter. Her nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate in August 2009 by a vote of 68-31.