“She rattles the institution”: How Sonia Sotomayor is transforming the Supreme Court

Keeping in mind that most of us are still a bit fuzzy on the whole three branches of government thing, it shouldn’t be a surprise to find that Justice Sonia Sotomayor, despite being the first Latina member in the high court’s history, remains something of a mystery to most Americans. The fact that the Supreme Court is infamously tight-lipped and secretive — so much so that we often only find out the real story behind historic cases decades after they’ve occurred — certainly doesn’t help.

But while many Americans may still not have much of a feel for Justice Sotomayor, journalist and author Joan Biskupic’s new biography, “Breaking In: The Rise of Sonia Sotomayor and the Politics of Justice,” makes a persuasive case that the Court’s first Latina is already having great influence over the legal questions that, whether they know it or not, influence all Americans’ lives. And she’s doing it, in part, by shaking up one of the most staid and conservative institutions in the world.

Please read more here http://www.salon.com/2014/10/09/she_rattles_the_institution_how_sonia_sotomayor_is_transforming_the_supreme_court/