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 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