U.S. senate approves Sotomayor's appointment to Supreme Court
09:40 07/08/2009 WASHINGTON, August 7 (RIA Novosti) - The U.S. senate confirmed the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court, the first Hispanic and only the third woman to be appointed to the country's highest court.
Sotomayor's life-long appointment, the first Democratic candidate for 15 years, was approved by a 68-31 senate majority on Thursday.
Sotomayor was nominated by U.S. President Barack Obama, who told reporters: "With this historic vote, the Senate has affirmed that Judge Sotomayor has the intellect, the temperament, the history, the integrity and the independence of mind to ably serve on our nation's highest court."
Fifty-five-year-old Sotomayor was born to Puerto Rican parents in New York before rising to become a judge. She replaces the outgoing liberal justice, David Souter, who is stepping down.
Although her appointment has been received positively by Democrats, she has been criticized by Republicans for her outspoken remarks and liberal stance, particularly on gun control, and was quizzed during her confirmation hearing about comments she made earlier in her career stating "a wise Latina woman" would "reach a better conclusion" than a white male judge.
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