Houston Criminal Attorney Asked If Sotomayor Truly The First Hispanic Supreme Court Justice
A few fellow Houston Criminal lawyers quizzed me today whether the newly appointed Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is the first Hispanic to sit on the court as reported. This was asked because most lawyers assume that due to his surname Benjamin Cardozo was the first Hispanic judge appointed to the United States Supreme Court. The media has it right on this one because Justice Cardozo's family immigrated from Portugal. Moreover, Portugal is not a Spanish speaking country. Thus, he would not be categorized as a Hispanic according to our census.