Justice Sonia Sotomayor took her seat as an associate justice of the Supreme Court Tuesday afternoon after a formal investiture ceremony at the court attended by President Obama and Vice President Biden.
Justice Sotomayor entered the courtroom shortly before 2 p.m. and was seated in front of the bench in a chair that had been used by Chief Justice John Marshall. After the other justices entered and took what were for several of them new spots (they sit in order of seniority), Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. made a motion to have the clerk of the court read Justice Sotomayor’s presidential commission. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., without particular deliberation, granted the motion.
The commission, in elaborate legalese on impressive parchment, was duly read. The chief justice administered the judicial oath, and Justice Sotomayor promised to “do equal right to the poor and to the rich.” Then she took her seat on the far right side of the bench.
The chief justice wished his new colleague “a long and happy career in our common calling.”
The ceremony lasted perhaps five minutes. A photo opportunity followed, and it lasted about twice as long.
Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Sotomayor chatted at the top of the steps in front of the Supreme Court building, walked down them, chatted some more and shook hands. Justice Sotomayor stood by herself for a while. “Tell me when you’ve had enough,” she said to the photographers.
She was joined by members of her family for more photos. “Bye, guys,” she said as she left.
No comments:
Post a Comment