WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Tuesday nominated federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor as the nation’s first Hispanic Supreme Court justice, according to The Associated Press.



Obama said Sotomayor has more experience as a judge than any current member of the high court had when they were nominated. He also said she has earned the “respect of colleagues on the bench,” the admiration of lawyers who appear in her court and “the adoration of her clerks,” according to the AP.

If confirmed by the Senate, Sotomayor would join Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the second woman on the current court, and the third in history. She would succeed retiring Justice David Souter.

Pictured above is Judge Sonia Sotomayor.