U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor Shares Stories, Receives Award at Duquesne

More than 2,000 people packed the A.J. Palumbo Center on Dec. 7 to hear U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor speak about her life and career.

Sotomayor was joined on stage by University President Ken Gormley and U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Marjorie Rendell at the special event, which included a student question-and-answer session during which Sotomayor walked among the audience while speaking with students.

In addition, the University and the Federal Bar Association of the Western District of Pennsylvania presented Sotomayor with the Carol Los Mansmann Award for Distinguished Public Service in honor of her commitment to equal access to justice for all citizens. The special award is named for the late Mansmann, a Duquesne alumna and former law professor, who was the first woman appointed to the federal court in Pittsburgh in 1982.

As a surprise for Sotomayor, Roberto Clemente Jr. presented the justice with a “Sotomayor” Pittsburgh Pirates jersey bearing the number 21, the number worn by his Hall-of-Fame father. Like Clemente, Sotomayor’s family hails from Puerto Rico.

The first Hispanic Supreme Court justice, Sotomayor was nominated by President Barack Obama in May 2009 and ascended to the nation’s highest court in August that year.

Due to overwhelming response, the event was moved from the Union to the A.J. Palumbo Center. Gormley noted it was one of the few times in Duquesne’s history that a 1,000-seat venue wasn’t large enough to accommodate an event at the University.

A video of the event can be viewed online.