President Barack Obama yesterday moved to place his imprint on the US judiciary by nominating Sonia Sotomayor as the next Supreme Court justice - the first Hispanic and only the third woman to be put forward for the country's highest court.
Republicans gave conflicting signals as to how strongly they would oppose the choice. Mr Obama said Ms Sotomayor, 54, who was born to Puerto Rican parents in New York's gritty South Bronx neighbourhood, fulfilled his promise of picking someone with a "common touch" who would diversify the nine-member court.
