Two anonymous sources have reported that the president will select the first Latina and third woman to wear the robes of a justice.

If confirmed by the Senate, Sonia Sotomayor, 54, will succeed retired Justice David Souter.

So who is she and what’s her story?

• Sotomayor is a self-described Nuyorican who grew up in a housing project in the South Bronx after her parents moved to New York from Puerto Rico.
• She has dealt with diabetes since age 8.
• She lost her father at age 9 and was raised by her mother.
• She was inspired to become a judge by an episode of “Perry Mason.” She told the New York Times: "I thought, what a wonderful occupation to have. And I made the quantum leap: If that was the prosecutor's job, then the guy who made the decision to dismiss the case was the judge. That was what I was going to be."
• She is a graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School, where she was the editor of the Yale Law Review.

How is Sotomayor qualified?

• She has 16 years of court experience.
• She currently sits on th U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.
• She was she was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in 1992 by then President Bush.
• She was elevated to the appeals court by President Clinton.
• She has has been considered as a potential Supreme Court Justice by both Republican and Democratic presidents.

With this selection, Obama appears to stand by his announcement that he wants a justice who has both intellect and empathy along with the ability to understand the troubles of everyday Americans.