Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor

Sonia Sotomayor, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and the first Hispanic and third woman appointed to the court, visits the University of Miami’s BankUnited Center on Friday, February 1 at 6 p.m. The event is a discussion with Sotomayor led by UM President Donna E. Shalala. It is being presented in association with Books & Books. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

The event is free, but a ticket is required. A limited number of tickets is available for faculty and staff on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets will be distributed on Wednesday, January 30 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the BankUnited Center Ticket Office window. There is a limit of one ticket per person, and a valid University of Miami ID (’Cane Card) is required.

In her new book, My Beloved World (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group), Sotomayor recounts with a candor and intimacy never undertaken by a sitting justice her life from a Bronx housing project to the federal bench, a journey that offers an inspiring testament to her own extraordinary determination and the power of believing in oneself.

Sotomayor was born in Bronx, New York, on June 25, 1954. She earned a B.A. in 1976 from Princeton University, graduating summa cum laude and receiving the university’s highest academic honor. In 1979, she earned a J.D. from Yale Law School, where she served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal.

She served as assistant district attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office from 1979 to 1984. She then litigated international commercial matters in New York City at Pavia & Harcourt, where she served as an associate and then partner from 1984 to 1992. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush nominated her to the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, and she served in that role from 1992 to 1998. She served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1998 to 2009. President Barack Obama nominated her as an associate justice of the Supreme Court on May 26, 2009, and she assumed this role August 8, 2009.

No large bags, purses exceeding 8.5” x 11”, backpacks, sharp objects, umbrellas, food or drinks, video cameras, or signs/banners will be allowed into the BankUnited Center. Cameras and cell phones are permitted.

Parking
Due to the high volume of vehicular traffic and limited availability of parking surrounding the BankUnited Center, employees and students are advised to walk to the venue from other points on campus. Additional information regarding street and lot closures will be provided by Parking and Transportation Services.