Obama Appoints Sonia Sotomayor -- First Latina -- to Supreme Court

President Barack Obama nominated Federal jurist Sonia Sotomayor from New York -- the first Latina and only the third woman in history - to the Supreme Court, according to the Los Angeles Times.  

Obama said of his choice to the bench that she is "inspiring and that he wanted a justice with "a common touch."  

The first President Bush appointed Sotomayor as a judge on the federal district court for the Southern District in 1991. President Bill Clinton appointed her to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan in 1998.

Sotomayor, 54, is appointed to replace Justice David Souter. If she her appointment is upheld she will add some diversity to the court, which is comprised of primarily white men. Currently only Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Justice Clarence Thomas - the court's only black justice - make for any diversity on the court.

"I chose to be a lawyer and ultimately a judge because I find endless challenge in the complexities of the law," Sotomayor said. "For as long as I can remember, I have been inspired by the achievement of our founding fathers. They set forward principles that have endured for more than two centuries. . . .

"It would be a profound privilege for me to play a role in applying those principles in the . . . controversies we face today," Sotomayor continued. "I am an ordinary person who has been blessed with extraordinary opportunities and experiences."

Confirmation hearings for Sotomayor are expected to be heard in July.