Sotomayor is right person for this important job

My op ed in the Arizona Republic today, as it originally appeared:

Of all the decisions a president will make during his or her time in office, the selection of a new justice to serve on the Supreme Court is a decision that may well have the longest impact on our country. The presidency changes hands every few years, but federal judges hold their jobs for life. The decisions they make from the bench will affect us in more ways that we can imagine.

Because this position holds such sway over the course of our country, it's good news that President Obama chose Sonia Sotomayor as his first nominee to the court. And we should be proud to support her.

As a former constitutional lawyer, President Obama has a real understanding of the importance of the court and the way it operates. He knows what it means to be an excellent jurist; therefore, was able to clearly lay out the kind of person he was looking for to serve the United States.

President Obama said he was looking for someone with a sharp and independent mind and a record of excellence and integrity. He wanted a nominee who would uphold core constitutional values through a common-sense understanding of how laws affect the daily realities of people's lives.

Consequently, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that Judge Sotomayor rose quickly to the top of his list. Not only does she have impeccable academic credentials, (Phi Beta Kappa at Princeton as an undergraduate; editor of the law journal at Yale after that) but she also has an inspiring life story and experience with how court rulings can affect the lives of real people.

Sotomayor grew up in a housing project in the Bronx. She was encouraged by her mother's belief in the power of education and her own strong work ethic, and she excelled in school, going on to attend two Ivy League universities. When she graduated from law school, Judge Sotomayor became an assistant district attorney in Manhattan, and tried scores of serious criminal cases over five years. It was practicing real law in front of a judge and jury that Sotomayor got firsthand knowledge of how our justice system works.

She was nominated to be a District Court judge by President George H.W. Bush, and then to be a Circuit Court judge by President Clinton. If confirmed for the Supreme Court, Judge Sotomayor would bring more federal judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any justice in 100 years and more overall judicial experience than anyone confirmed for the Court in the past 70 years.

The most important issues of our lifetime, from education to the environment and consumer safety to civil rights for all Americans, will come before the Supreme Court in the coming years.

It's difficult to overstate the importance of the Supreme Court, and we cannot forget that this branch of government is co-equal to the executive and legislative branches. We need justices who possess excellent qualifications, a real understanding of the law, and a record of open-mindedness on the bench. We need Judge Sonia Sotomayor.