Sonia Sotomayor's 13 Most Notable Decisions
Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nearly 17 years on the federal bench means that she could bring more federal judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any justice in a century. As a judge on the U.S. Appeals Court for the Second Circuit, Sotomayor has heard more than 3,000 court cases and written more than 380 majority opinions. If confirmed by the Senate, she would be the first Hispanic and third woman to sit on the Supreme Court. In her long judicial tenure, which includes her work as a federal district court judge in New York, she's tackled some of the nation's biggest hot-button issues, from abortion to affirmative action. "What you see is really rigorous adherence to the rule of law," says Kenji Yoshino, a professor of constitutional law at New York University Law School. As debate on Sotomayor's nomination heats up, here are 13 court cases that highlight her judicial philosophy.
—Queenie Wong