Sonia Sotomayor Supreme Court nomination Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. The seat was filled by Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. of the Third Circuit. Since Barack Obama's election, there had been speculation that Sotomayor could be a leading candidate for the Supreme Court seat of Justice David Souter, or for any opening on the Court during Obama's term. On April 9, 2009, Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand wrote a joint letter to President Obama urging him to appoint Sotomayor, or alternatively Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, to the Supreme Court if a vacancy should arise on the Court during his term.<ref name="Schumer/Gillibrand"></ref> On April 30,
Asian Hispanic and Latino Americans Asian Hispanic and Latino Americans Asian Hispanic and Latino Americans are Hispanic and Latino Americans having Asian ancestry and for those Hispanics who consider themselves or were officially classified by the United States Census Bureau, Office of Management and Budget, and other U.S. government agencies as Asian Americans. Hispanicity, which is independent of race, is the only ethnic category, as opposed to racial category, which is officially unified by the U.S. Census Bureau. The distinction made by government agencies for those within the population of any official race category, including "Asian American", is between those who report Hispanic or Latino