Well some may say that the newly confirmed Associate Justice Sonya Sotomayor has nothing to do with the Television and Film Industry but we beg to differ.   Just think back a little to the headlines “President Barack Obama, First African American President of the Unites States of America.” A variation of this proclamation as you know dominated headlines and graced the cover of ever major and not-so-major publication as well television screen.   Remember the adage “Art imitating life”? Well, if you believe that art imitates life, then the evolution of life as we know it will have a major effect on what is created.  Yes, we’ve already seen Dennis Haysbert as president in David Palmer’s  “24” but just recently renown actor Edward James Olmos was seen as judge Roberto Mendoza, a Supreme Court hopeful, in episodes of the West Wing.   Although this is just one example I’m sure we can look at a myriad of movies and television shows that are either based or loosely based on true-life stories.  Therefore, it’s important that when looking at the film and television industry we acknowledge the effect that every discipline and industry has on the way images are shaped and portrayed.  Now the preverbal “green light” that seems to quickly turn red when certain aspects of life seek to merge with art is another story.  Yet the stories are being made and becoming more and more mainstream.  Perhaps there is much more to be accomplished before marginalization comes to an end?

A Journey Supreme:

On May 26, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Sotomayor for appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court to replace retired Justice David Souter. Her nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 6, 2009, by a vote of 68–31, and she was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts on August 8. Sotomayor is the Court's 111th justice, its first Hispanic justice, and its third female justice.

Sotomayor is of Puerto Rican descent and was born in the Bronx. Her father died when she was nine, and she was subsequently raised by her mother. Sotomayor graduated with an A.B., summa cum laude, from Princeton University in 1976 and received her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1979, where she was an editor at the Yale Law Journal. 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, 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 by President George H. W. Bush in 1991, and her nomination was confirmed in 1992.

Sotomayor's confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee began on July 13, 2009. During them, she backed away from her "wise Latina" remark, declaring it "a rhetorical flourish that fell flat" and stating that "I do not believe that any ethnic, racial or gender group has an advantage in sound judgment. When Republican senators confronted her regarding other remarks from her past speeches, she pointed to her judicial record and said she had never let her own life experiences or opinions influence her decisions. Republican senators said that while her rulings to this point might be largely traditional, they feared her Supreme Court rulings – where there is more latitude with respect to precedent and interpretation – might be more reflective of her speeches. Sotomayor defend her position in Ricci as following applicable precedent. When asked whom she admired, she pointed to Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo. On July 28, 2009, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved Sotomayor's nomination; the 13–6 vote was almost entirely along party lines, with no Democrats opposing her and only one Republican supporting her.

On August 6, 2009, Sotomayor's appointment was brought up for a vote on the floor of the Senate. She was confirmed by a vote of 68 to 31. All Democrats and the two independents who caucus with them voted in favor of confirmation, with the exception of the ailing Sen. Ted Kennedy, who was unavailable to vote due to health issues. Thirty-one Republicans opposed the nomination, and nine supported it.  Sotomayor was sworn in on August 8, 2009, by Chief Justice John Roberts. She will be formally invested on September 8, 2009, in a special session of the court convened for that purpose.

*Wikipedia