Washington — President Obama announced May 26 that he will nominate U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be a Supreme Court justice.

If confirmed by the Senate, Sotomayor, who the president said has “a depth of experience and a breadth of perspective that will be invaluable as a Supreme Court justice,” would be the first Hispanic to serve on the highest court in the United States.

Sotomayor has served 11 years as a judge on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a position she was nominated to by Democratic President Bill Clinton. Prior to that, Republican President George H.W. Bush nominated her in 1992 to serve as a judge on a U.S. District Court, also in New York. Sotomayor has also worked as a lawyer, both for a private firm and as an assistant district attorney in New York City.

If confirmed, Sotomayor would be the third woman to serve on the highest court. At 54 years old, she would be the second-youngest judge on the current Supreme Court, just a few months older than Chief Justice John Roberts.

A Supreme Court justice must have “rigorous intellect, a mastery of the law,” and the ability to focus on key issues and provide clear answers to complex legal questions, Obama said. He or she must also recognize “the limits of the judicial role, an understanding that a judge’s job is to interpret, not make law, to approach decisions without any particular ideology or agenda,” Obama said.

But a Supreme Court justice should also have “experience being tested by obstacles and barriers, by hardship and misfortune,” which Sotomayor has, Obama said, calling her “an inspiring woman.”

These experiences include Sotomayor’s childhood growing up in a housing project in the Bronx, part of New York City. She earned scholarships that helped her attend Princeton University and later attended Yale Law School. Sotomayor “lived out the American dream” that brought her parents to New York from Puerto Rico, Obama said.

If confirmed, Sotomayor would replace Justice David Souter, who on May 1 announced his intention to retire when the court finishes its term in June. Souter was appointed to the court by President George H.W. Bush in 1990. (See “Nominees for Highest U.S. Court Undergo Careful Scrutiny.”)

A SERIOUS RESPONSIBILITY

“Of the many responsibilities granted to a president by our Constitution, few are more serious or more consequential than selecting a Supreme Court justice,” Obama said. The Supreme Court is the highest level of the judicial branch of the U.S. government.

During his presidency, Obama will nominate hundreds of federal judges to serve on courts across the nation. But the judicial nominations that will draw the most attention are the lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Supreme Court’s nine justices make up the court of final appeal from the lower federal and state courts. Political experts believe it is likely Obama will make more than one appointment to the Supreme Court during his presidency.

As outlined in Article II of the U.S. Constitution, a Supreme Court justice, like Cabinet officials and other political appointees, is nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Before making his decision on Sotomayor, Obama said, he consulted with members of Congress from both political parties, including every member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee will hold hearings and question the nominee before the full Senate votes.

Obama called on Congress to vote on Sotomayor’s confirmation by September, so that if confirmed, she could join the court as it reviews potential cases before its term begins in October.

The current court is roughly divided between four justices generally considered liberal and four who are generally considered conservative. Souter, despite being appointed by a Republican president, tends to be among the liberal justices, along with John Paul Stevens, Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsberg. The conservative justices are Chief Justice John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Justice Anthony Kennedy frequently serves as a swing vote in the middle, according to the Brookings Institution’s research director, Benjamin Wittes. (See “Next President Could Shape U.S. Judiciary More than Predecessors.”)

With such a close balance of political views in the current court meaning that each new appointment could shift the court’s ideological balance, any Supreme Court nominee will be scrutinized closely, both by the public and by Congress. On a few occasions, constitutional controversies with moral dimensions (slavery, abortion, segregation) have polarized American opinion about the selection of Supreme Court justices.

During the hearing process, senators often will question nominees on their judicial record and views on constitutional issues. This process can be contentious, especially when committee members are trying to gauge a nominee’s views on a controversial issue. Historically, about 20 percent of Supreme Court nominees fail to receive Senate confirmation.

Although the Constitution imposes specific age, residency and citizenship qualifications for the president of the United States and members of Congress, it sets no similar qualifications for Supreme Court justices. There is also no constitutional requirement that the court have nine justices.

No prior experience as a judge, expertise as a constitutionalist, or legal training is mandated. Nevertheless, virtually every appointment to the nation’s highest court has come from the pool of those with training in the law and professional experience as lawyers and judges.

More information about the U.S. Supreme Court is available on the court’s Web site.