Sonia Sotomayor men's Bohemian Grove. On June 19, 2009, Sotomayor resigned from the Belizean Grove after Republican politicians voiced concerns over the group's membership policy. Sotomayor has maintained a public presence, mostly through making speeches, since joining the federal judiciary and throughout her time on the Supreme Court. She gave over 180 speeches between 1993 and 2009, about half of which either focused on issues of ethnicity or gender or were delivered to minority or women's groups. While on the Supreme Court she has been invited to give commencement addresses at a number of universities including New York University (2012), Yale University
Sonia Sotomayor Supreme Court nomination Judiciary Committee on July 28, 2009, which then voted out a recommendation to the full Senate. Chairman Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont said he expected Sotomayor to be in the "mold of Justice Souter, who understands the real-world impact of the Court's decisions, rather than the mold of conservative activists who second-guess Congress." Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania said, "Her confirmation would add needed diversity in two ways: the first Hispanic and the third woman to serve on the high court." Russ Feingold of Wisconsin said that "from all accounts, she is a highly qualified and very experienced judge." Orrin Hatch