who was the first hispanic to serve on the supreme court

Sonia Sotomayor was the first Hispanic to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Historic Confirmation

Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009, she filled the seat vacated by Justice David Souter and took her oath on August 8, 2009.

Born June 25, 1954, in the Bronx to Puerto Rican parents, Sotomayor rose from public housing to Princeton and Yale Law School.

Her swearing-in marked her as the third woman and first Latina justice, breaking barriers in the Court's 220-year history.

Path to the Bench

• Earned a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1979, editing the Yale Law Journal.

• Served as an assistant district attorney in New York for over four years.

• Appointed to the U.S. District Court by George H.W. Bush in 1991; elevated to the Second Circuit by Bill Clinton in 1998.

• Authored around 380 opinions on the appeals court, handling over 3,000 cases.

Key Milestones and Legacy

Sotomayor's journey embodies the American Dream, from Bronx projects—where her father died when she was nine—to the nation's highest court.

She's often the liberal voice on a conservative-leaning Court, notably supporting the 2015 same-sex marriage ruling.

As of January 2026, she continues serving alongside justices like Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Milestone| Date| Significance
---|---|---
District Court Appointment| 1992| First role as federal judge 4
Appeals Court Confirmation| 1998| Handled major cases 4
Supreme Court Nomination| May 2009| Obama's first pick 3
Sworn In| August 8, 2009| First Hispanic justice 57

TL;DR: Sonia Sotomayor made history in 2009 as the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice, a trailblazing Latina from humble Bronx roots.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.