Sonia Sotomayor

An essay on Sonia Sotomayor overviews the historical Supreme Court nomination of first latina woman to the highest court in the United States. A Yale law grad, the most trial experience of any justice on the Supreme Court and a judicial record that is virtually flawless puts Sotomayor as a shining light on the bench. However, her nomination is not without controversy. A powerful woman never is. Therefore, choosing Sonia Sotomayor as an essay topic for your classes is an excellent choice for classes such political science, law, history, social sciences and American studies.

Political Science Essays on the United States Supreme Court

The role of Sonia Sotomayor on the United States Supreme Court is to decide issues related to the U.S. Constitution and to serve as a body that balances and checks the powers of the other two major branches of government.

• Sonia Sotomayor sits on the highest court in the nation.
• Sotomayor helps determine the course of society by the decisions it hands down.
• The Court that Sotomayor resides on has decided many different issues it has been particularly active in shaping race relations and laws in the United States.

The Supreme Court's ability to decide a Presidential election has, for many individuals, solidified the idea that the Supreme Court is the most powerful branch of the federal government. Even though there is ample evidence to suggest that this assertion is correct, there are those that believe recent decisions by the court have demonstrated the institution's ability to hold up the Constitution rather than to serve the political whims of its constituent members. For instance, one author argues that the court's decision to uphold the Boy Scouts' right to exclude homosexual leaders was justified. In doing so the Court was not attacking homosexuals; rather it was instilling "a vindication of First Amendment rights of organizations to form a message through their associations". Thus, it is clear that even though the Supreme Court is charged with the task setting moral and social precedence, it must follow the mandates of the Constitution. In short, the power of the Supreme Court is in fact limited.