sotomayor swearing in

She will repeat one oath as prescribed by the Constitution in a private ceremony at the high court. It will be open only to members of Sotomayor's family. Then, Roberts will administer a second oath, taken by judges, with the new justice's family and friends, and reporters present.Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said the ceremony apparently will be the first one open to television cameras in the court's history.Sotomayor is the first Democratic nominee in 15 years. She becomes the nation's 111th justice and just the third woman in the court's history. She'll appear next week at the White House with President Barack Obama, who chose her in May to replace retiring Justice David Souter.

With this historic vote, the Senate has affirmed that Justice Sotomayor has the intellect, the temperament, the history, the integrity and the independence of mind to ably serve on our nation's highest court, Obama said following Thursday's 68-31 confirmation vote.Senate Democrats backed her unanimously but most Republicans lined up in a show of opposition both for her and for the president's standards for a justice.The 55-year-old daughter of Puerto Rican parents was raised in a South Bronx housing project and educated in the Ivy League before rising to the highest legal echelons, spending the past 17 years as a federal judge.

I, Sonia Sotomayor, do solemnly swear that I will administer justice without respect to persons and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, she repeated after Roberts promptings.In the first private oath, she promised to support and defend the Constitution.After the second oath, Roberts congratulated Sotomayor and welcomed her to the high court. She then embraced her mother and her brother, who was standing beside her during the oath, and exited the room smiling broadly.Justice Anthony Kennedy was also in attendance.The swearing-in ceremony took place two days after the Senate voted 68-31 to confirm her nomination after nearly 20 hours of debate. Only nine Republicans voted for her a demonstration of the divisive, partisan reaction to President Obama’s first nomination to the high court.

More senators voted against her than voted against Roberts’ confirmation, but fewer than President Bush’s other nominee, Samuel Alito.The ceremony was held on Saturday to ensure Sotomayor’s quick ascension to the high court. Sotomayor, 55, replaced retired Justice David Souter, a consistent liberal vote on the court.Sotomayor will be quickly getting to work: The court is set to hear arguments Sept. 9 in a campaign finance case.There is a great desire on the part of both Justice Sotomayor and her colleagues on the court to get to work, said CNN legal expert Jeffrey Toobin after the ceremony.Most swearing-ins of justices have taken place within 48 hours of the confirmation vote in the Senate.The public pledges to defend the Constitution and impartially uphold the laws of the United States capped a 10-week confirmation battle in which conservative Republicans accused her of judicial activism and quoted speeches she made, including a now-famous comment about the superior judgment of a wise Latina.