New York Stories: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor

A sign on the Museum reads “National September 11 Memorial Museum.” An American flag reflects off the glass that the sign is displayed on.

Photo by Jin S. Lee, 9/11 Memorial

On March 8, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor visited the 9/11 Memorial Museum and reflected on the impact of the 9/11 attacks on American society from her unique vantage point as a native New Yorker. In case you missed it, you can watch the public program here.

Justice Sotomayor watched as her city and neighborhood were devastated by the attacks, and then witnessed the city rebuild. The daughter of parents who had come to New York City from Puerto Rico, Justice Sotomayor grew up in the South Bronx. After graduating from Princeton University and Yale Law School, she started her legal career in New York as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan, moving into private practice and then serving, after nomination by President George H.W. Bush and confirmation by the U.S. Senate, as a Federal District Court judge. On 9/11, she was sitting as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in lower Manhattan.

By 9/11 Memorial Staff