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Sotomayor Sworn In to Supreme Court

Sonia Sotomayor was sworn in as the newest justice on the United States Supreme Court on Saturday, making her the 111th justice and the first Latina to serve on the high court.At a closed-door ceremony in the Justices’ Conference Room at the Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Roberts administered the constitutional oath to Sotomayor, only the third woman and third minority to serve on the court. After that ceremony, Roberts also administered the judicial oath in the East Conference Room, which was attended by Sotomayor’s family and friends.The formal investiture ceremony, when Sotomayor will take her place on the court, is scheduled for Sept. 8.On Thursday, the Senate voted 68-31 to confirm Sotomayor to the bench, with 59 Democrats and nine Republicans voting in favor. The GOP Senators voting “yes” were: Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) and Sens. George Voinovich (Ohio), Mel Martinez (Fla.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Judd Gregg (N.H.), Kit Bond (Mo.), Dick Lugar (Ind.) and Maine’s Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), who is battling brain cancer, was the only Senator who did not vote. Sotomayor, a New York native who most recently served on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, is President Barack Obama’s first nominee to the Supreme Court. Although Republicans tried to mount opposition to her installment with charges that she would legislate from the bench, they were unsuccessful. Democrats spent the bulk of her 10-week confirmation process touting her life story, 17 years of judicial experience and fidelity to the rule of law.

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