“Today I rise to address one of the most significant and far reaching decisions a Senator makes: The vote on a confirmation of a Supreme Court Justice. This vote will have an immense impact on future generations. A Senator is called upon to make two decisions that are irrevocable. One is the decision to go to war. The other is the confirmation of the members of the Supreme Court. The people of Maryland have entrusted in me the right make this decision and I take this responsibility very seriously.
“When I decide how I will vote on any nominee for the federal bench, I have three criteria. First, the nominee must possess the highest personal and professional integrity. Second, the nominee has to have the competence and temperament to serve as a judge. Finally, the nominee must demonstrate a clear commitment to core constitutional principles. Judge Sonia Sotomayor passes all those tests with flying colors.
“If confirmed, Sonia Sotomayor would be the third woman to serve on the Supreme Court and the first Hipanic on the Supreme Court. She has a compelling personal story, as well as a distinguished judicial record. Her father was a tool-and-die worker with third grade education who spoke no English and died when Judge Sotomayor was only nine years old. She was raised by her mother, a nurse in a public housing project in the Bronx, New York. After her father’s death, she turned to reading Nancy Drew mystery novels, which inspired her love of reading and learning that put her on a path that ultimately led her to the law. Sotomayor excelled in school, graduated top of her class at Blessed Sacrament and Cardinal Spellman High School. She won a scholarship to Princeton University where she graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. She then attended Yale Law School and served as an editor for the Yale Law Journal.