This morning President Obama announced his first nominee to the Supreme Court: Judge Sonia Sotomayor, a judge on the federal court of appeals for New York. If confirmed, she would be the first person of Hispanic descent to serve on the high court, and only the third woman.

Judge Sotomayor, 54, grew up in a South Bronx housing project, the oldest child of a couple from Puerto Rico who spoke no English. She won a scholarship to Princeton University and graduated from Yale Law School, where she was editor of the Yale Law Review. She is seen a bipartisan choice: she was appointed to the federal district court by President George HW Bush, and to the appellate court by President Bill Clinton. However, she is not without controversy: some conservatives see her as an activist judge based on a statement she made at Duke University in which she said that appellate courts drive policy:

President Obama praised Judge Sotomayor's experience "at almost every level of our judicial system," noting that she would replace Justice Souter, who is retiring, as the only Supreme Court justice with experience as a trial judge. Now we'll find out whether that depth of experience will help her navigate the treacherous waters of the Congressional nomination process.