Judge Sonia Sotomayor, a self-described Newyorican who grew up in a housing project in the Bronx after her parents moved from Puerto Rico, has been tapped by President Obama to be the next Supreme Court justice of the U.S. She was inspired by Perry Mason as a little girl, and has served as a federal judge for New York's Southern District for 17 years. In addition to being the first person of Hispanic descent ever appointed to the court, KCBS reports that Sotomayor brings "more judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any justice confirmed in the past 70 years."

She was first named to the federal circuit by George H.W. Bush, and later elevated to the appeals court by President Clinton. She is perhaps most famous for having "saved baseball" in 1995, ruling in favor of the players over the owners in a labor strike that led to the cancellation of the World Series. The Senate now has longer than usual (four months) to confirm her appointment, and since she's never ruled on abortion and says things like, "I don't believe we should bend the Constitution under any circumstance," it appears unlikely she will face strong enough opposition from Republicans to matter.