Sonia Sotomayor supported the informal liberal bloc of justices when they divide along the commonly perceived ideological lines. During her tenure on the Supreme Court, Sotomayor has been identified with concern for the rights of defendants, calls for reform of the criminal justice system, and making impassioned dissents on issues of race, gender and ethnic identity, including "Schuette v. BAMN," "Utah v. Strieff", and "Trump v. Hawaii". Sonia Maria Sotomayor was born in the New York City borough of The Bronx. Her father was Juan Sotomayor (born c. 1921), from the area of Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and her mother was
Sonia Sotomayor Supreme Court nomination would like to see Sotomayor confirmed by the beginning of the Senate recess on August 7, 2009. On June 9, 2009, Patrick Leahy announced that Judiciary Committee hearings on Sotomayor's nomination would begin on Monday, July 13, 2009. The Senate Judiciary Committee convened for the first day of Confirmation hearings on July 13, where Senator Charles Schumer proclaimed that the opportunity that Sotomayor has could not have happened "anywhere else in the world", saying that America is "God's noble experiement". Out the many notable speakers, the Committee also welcomed newly sworn in Senator Al Franken (D-MN), who marked his first