US: Sotomayor wins historic US Supreme Court confirmation
By a 68-31 margin on Thursday, the appeals court judge, 55, became the third woman to sit on the bench that serves as the final arbiter of the US constitution and is called upon to decide feuds on volatile issues like gun rights and abortion.Fri Aug 7 05:42:38 EST 2009
WASHINGTON, Aug 6 AFP - Sonia Sotomayor has won Senate confirmation as the first Hispanic justice on the US Supreme Court, in a big victory for President Barack Obama over stiff Republican objections.
Sotomayor, who is of Puerto Rican descent, was not expected to tilt the balance of the court come October, when she will replace the retiring justice David Souter.
She will join Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the only other woman currently on the high bench. The first woman ever to serve as a justice, Sandra Day O'Connor, announced her retirement in 2005.
Support from all of Obama's Democratic allies and a handful of Republicans meant the outcome was never seriously in doubt - though the final days brought harsh debate over issues like race and whether Sotomayor would be fair.
