Sotomayor officially seated on high court
WASHINGTON -- With President Obama, her mother and other well-wishers in the white marble and red velvet courtroom Tuesday, Sonia Sotomayor swore to "do equal right to the poor and to the rich" as a Supreme Court justice.
Sotomayor, who succeeds the retired Justice David Souter, officially took the judicial oath on Aug. 8. Tuesday's event was pure ritual, with numerous dignitaries, including Vice President Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder, attending, and the historic chair used by Chief Justice John Marshall (1801 to 1835) brought out for Sotomayor's initial seating.
The event lasted five minutes and was followed by the traditional walk down the grand marble steps of the columned building and then a private reception.
The ceremony for the nation's first Hispanic justice began when Sotomayor, 55, was escorted to the Marshall chair. She wore a black robe and an elaborate white lace collar made in Quebec that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the court's only other female justice, had given her for the occasion.
Chief Justice John Roberts then administered the oath, in which Sotomayor also promised to "faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties" of an associate justice.
Sotomayor then took her end seat, to the chief justice's far left, as dictated by seniority.
Watching in the front row of the spectator chairs was Celina Sotomayor, the justice's mother, who was widowed at a young age and who supported her daughter and a son by working two jobs as a nurse. The justice's brother, Juan, attended, as did her stepfather, Omar Lopez.
Sotomayor grew up in a Bronx housing project, and her path to the Supreme Court included scholarships to Princeton and Yale Law School.
As she was sworn in Tuesday, her eight robed colleagues stood along their mahogany bench watching intently.
After the courtroom ritual, Chief Justice Roberts escorted Sotomayor down the steps of the marble columned building for photographs. Under skies that had cleared from a morning of rain, Sotomayor shed her robe and revealed a black-and-white checked business suit. Roberts, in a dark suit, wore one of the red ties he often sports for such ceremonial events.
Sotomayor declined to take any questions.
"Tell me when you've had enough," she said at one point, laughing but clearly ready for her moment in the spotlight to be over.
After a few poses with her family, Sotomayor looked toward the news media and said, "Bye, guys."
A private reception for Sotomayor, her colleagues and friends followed. Carlos Ortiz, former president of Hispanic National Bar Association and a longtime friend, was among those present.
"This investiture marks the final step in a very long journey, in reaching this momentous milestone," he said. "As Americans, not just as Hispanic Americans, we should all be very proud of how far our nation has come."
The real work of the court begins Wednesday as the justices hold a special sitting to hear arguments in a campaign-finance case that could transform the rules for corporate money in election politics.
The justices will hear Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission at 10 a.m. The question is whether longstanding restrictions on corporate spending on candidates should be lifted.