Biography
Sonia Sotomayor was appointed a Supreme Court justice in 2009 and became the first woman of Latin origin at the highest level of judicial hierarchy in the United States. Sonia Sotomayor was born in Bronx, New York, on June 25, 1954. Her parents were both born in Puerto Rico but moved to New York during World War II (Biography 2016). In Bronx, Sonia was raised in poor catholic Puerto Rican community and was speaking mostly Spanish (Lewis 2016). At age seven, she was diagnosed with type I diabetes that in some way formed her career choice. As a child, Sotomayor was inspired by Nancy Drew and wanted to become a detective; the health problems and Perry Mason show made her choose the profession of attorney (Hoffman 1992). After her …show more content…
The murder occurred during a robbery of the Popeye’s restaurant where both of them worked. The victim’s dead body with multiple stab wounds was discovered inside the freezer by other employees of the restaurant. The safe was unlocked and the receipts from the previous day and hundreds of dollars were missing. Timothy Hurst and Cynthia Harrison were the only people scheduled to work at that time. Witnesses, friends of Timothy Hurst, testified that a man announced he was planning to rob the restaurant and after committing the crimes he told them about the murder. Other witnesses were able to identify Hurst as the man who was at Popeye’s in the morning of the robbery and the one who spent money on rings at pawn shop shortly after the crime. The police was able to obtain substantial forensic evidence: the clothes with the stains of the victim’s blood on it that Timothy Hurst was wearing, as well as a deposit slip missing from the safe, with Hurst fingerprints. Also, the box cutter that was used as the murder weapon and the black electric tape on the victim’s body were proved to be in Hurst’s possession. However, Timothy Hurst didn’t admit guilt and claimed he was not at work that day as his car broke down on the way. The jury found him guilty and recommended the death penalty. The maximum sentence a capital felon may receive is life imprisonment. Under Florida law, the jury …show more content…
If the justice decides to retire usually he/she retires at the time when a President can nominate a replacement that is similar in opinions and party affiliation to a currently retiring justice. Therefore, if the Senate doesn’t approve Merrick Garland, who is considerably moderate in his decisions, the retirement of current justices would heavily depend on the newly elected president. There four candidates of age that circulate public opinion about possible retirement: democratic justices Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Republicans Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas. There were particular rumors about Clarence Thomas and his decision to retire that were refuted by his wife on social media (Bedard 2016). Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the oldest Supreme Court Justice, but as she stated in her 2014 interview she doesn’t know of anyone who could replace her at that time. She also plans to stay on the bench “as long as [she] can do the job full steam” (Weisberg 2014). A woman of her strength and drive might continue her work till her last
Sonia Sotomayor was appointed a Supreme Court justice in 2009 and became the first woman of Latin origin at the highest level of judicial hierarchy in the United States. Sonia Sotomayor was born in Bronx, New York, on June 25, 1954. Her parents were both born in Puerto Rico but moved to New York during World War II (Biography 2016). In Bronx, Sonia was raised in poor catholic Puerto Rican community and was speaking mostly Spanish (Lewis 2016). At age seven, she was diagnosed with type I diabetes that in some way formed her career choice. As a child, Sotomayor was inspired by Nancy Drew and wanted to become a detective; the health problems and Perry Mason show made her choose the profession of attorney (Hoffman 1992). After her …show more content…
The murder occurred during a robbery of the Popeye’s restaurant where both of them worked. The victim’s dead body with multiple stab wounds was discovered inside the freezer by other employees of the restaurant. The safe was unlocked and the receipts from the previous day and hundreds of dollars were missing. Timothy Hurst and Cynthia Harrison were the only people scheduled to work at that time. Witnesses, friends of Timothy Hurst, testified that a man announced he was planning to rob the restaurant and after committing the crimes he told them about the murder. Other witnesses were able to identify Hurst as the man who was at Popeye’s in the morning of the robbery and the one who spent money on rings at pawn shop shortly after the crime. The police was able to obtain substantial forensic evidence: the clothes with the stains of the victim’s blood on it that Timothy Hurst was wearing, as well as a deposit slip missing from the safe, with Hurst fingerprints. Also, the box cutter that was used as the murder weapon and the black electric tape on the victim’s body were proved to be in Hurst’s possession. However, Timothy Hurst didn’t admit guilt and claimed he was not at work that day as his car broke down on the way. The jury found him guilty and recommended the death penalty. The maximum sentence a capital felon may receive is life imprisonment. Under Florida law, the jury …show more content…
If the justice decides to retire usually he/she retires at the time when a President can nominate a replacement that is similar in opinions and party affiliation to a currently retiring justice. Therefore, if the Senate doesn’t approve Merrick Garland, who is considerably moderate in his decisions, the retirement of current justices would heavily depend on the newly elected president. There four candidates of age that circulate public opinion about possible retirement: democratic justices Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Republicans Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas. There were particular rumors about Clarence Thomas and his decision to retire that were refuted by his wife on social media (Bedard 2016). Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the oldest Supreme Court Justice, but as she stated in her 2014 interview she doesn’t know of anyone who could replace her at that time. She also plans to stay on the bench “as long as [she] can do the job full steam” (Weisberg 2014). A woman of her strength and drive might continue her work till her last