Judge Sonia Sotomayor Nominated to Supreme Court
May 26, 2009 -- President Barack Obama today nominated Second Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. If confirmed, Judge Sotomayor will replace Justice David Suter and would be the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice.
In February, 2006, Judge Sotomayor joined Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Judges Guido Calabresi as judges for GW Law's Van Vleck Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition.
The GW Van Vleck competition has a long-standing tradition of attracting high-profile judges. Supreme Court Justices Tom Clark, Byron White, Potter Stewart, John M. Harlan, William J. Brennan, William Rehnquist (as assistant attorney general), Samuel A. Alito Jr, and Antonin Scalia have judged the competition. In addition to Judges Sotomayor and Calabresi, recent U.S. Court of Appeals judges of Van Vleck competitions include: 2009: Judge Marsha Berzon (9th Circuit) and Judge Jeffrey Sutton (6th Circuit); 2008: Judge Randall Rader (Federal Circuit), Judge Stephen Reinhardt (9th Circuit), and Judge Janice Rogers Brown (D.C. Circuit); and 2007: Judge Jose A. Cabranes (2nd Circuit) and Diane P. Wood (7th Circuit).
Click here to watch the C-SPAN video.
Click here to read more about the Van Vleck Moot Court competition.