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Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor pays a visit

By Public Affairs

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor spent Thursday at UC Berkeley, talking to law students and capping her day with an on-stage conversation with Interim Law Dean Melissa Murray in Zellerbach Hall.

Justice Sotomayor has served on the high court since 2009 and is its first Hispanic justice. Murray clerked for the justice when she was a judge for the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.

The justice filled the house at Zellerbach. She was introduced by Vice Chancellor Na’ilah Nasir, who described Murray and Sotomayor as “powerhouse women.” When the two walked out on stage, the crowd erupted in deafening applause.

The justice, clearly moved, said, “You have no idea how overwhelming this is.”

Many of those attending brought along copies of her memoir, “My Beloved World.”

In her book, she chronicles her rise from a Bronx, N.Y., housing project to the country’s highest court. The justice’s life story of fierce determination has proved inspirational to students nationwide.

It was Justice Sotomayor’s second visit to Berkeley Law as a U.S. Supreme Court associate justice; in 2011, she presided over the school’s McBaine Moot Court Honors Competition.

Photos of her talk at Zellerbach are above and a video of her full talk is below. More details of her visit are posted on the Berkeley Law website.