Supreme Court justice Sotomayor to visit area schools in April
ALBANY, N.Y. >> U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor will visit Albany Law School on Monday, April 3, to meet privately with students, spend time with faculty and address the law school community.
“This will be an historic day for Albany Law School,” said Alicia Ouellette, the school’s president and dean. “We are honored that our students, faculty and community have the opportunity to meet Justice Sotomayor.”
Sotomayor will receive the law school’s Kate Stoneman Award, presented annually to people in the legal profession who have demonstrated a commitment to seeking change and equal opportunities for women. The award is named for Kate Stoneman, who in 1898 became the first woman to graduate from Albany Law School and was also the first woman to pass the state bar exam, though her application to become an attorney was denied because of her gender. She campaigned to change the rules and make women eligible for licensure as attorneys and subsequently became the first woman admitted to the bar in New York state.
The next day, Tuesday, April 4, Sotomayor will headline the University at Albany’s Speaker Series, discussing her autobiography, “My Beloved World,” which recounts her journey to the federal bench.
Sotomayor is the third woman and the first Latina to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, appointed to the bench by President Barack Obama in August 2009.