I want to state upfront, unequivocally and without doubt: I do not believe that any racial, ethnic or gender group has an advantage in sound judging. I do believe that every person has an equal opportunity to be a good and wise judge, regardless of their background or life experiences.

I am an ordinary person who has been blessed with extraordinary opportunities and experiences. Today is one of those experiences.

I was raised in a Bronx public housing project, but studied at two of the nation’s finest universities. I did work as an assistant district attorney, prosecuting violent crimes that devastate our communities.

With my academic achievement in high school I was accepted rather readily at Princeton and equally as fast at Yale, but my test scores were not comparable to that of my classmates. And that’s been shown by statistics, there are reasons for that – there are cultural biases built into testing, and that was one of the motivations for the concept of affirmative action to try to balance out those effects.

All of the legal defense funds out there, they’re looking for people out there with court of appeals experience, because court of appeals is where policy is made. And I know, I know this is on tape and I should never say that because we don’t make law, I know. I know.

Although I grew up in very modest and challenging circumstances, I consider my life to be immeasurably rich.

I firmly believe in the rule of law as the foundation for all of our basic rights.

Personal experiences affect the facts that judges choose to see.

I stand on the shoulders of countless people, yet there is one extraordinary person who is my life aspiration – that person is my mother, Celina Sotomayor.

Whether born from experience or inherent physiological or cultural differences our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging.

Even though Article IV of the Constitution says that treaties are the ‘supreme law of the land,’ in most instances they’re not even law.

We apply law to facts. We don’t apply feelings to facts.

I want to state upfront, unequivocally and without doubt: I do not believe that any racial, ethnic or gender group has an advantage in sound judging. I do believe that every person has an equal opportunity to be a good and wise judge, regardless of their background or life experiences.

I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.

I wouldn’t approach the issue of judging in the way the president does. Judges can’t rely on what’s in their heart. They don’t determine the law. Congress makes the law. The job of a judge is to apply the law.

I hope that as the Senate and the American people learn more about me they will see that I am an ordinary person who has been blessed with extraordinary opportunities and experiences.

It’s not the heart that compels conclusions in cases, it’s the law.

This wealth of experiences, personal and professional, have helped me appreciate the variety of perspectives that present themselves in every case that I hear.