the buzz log

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is sure to face some tough questions when she undergoes confirmation hearings later this summer. To prepare, she may want to look at what Yahoo! searchers are interested in. Folks are seeking the scoop on her background, biography, and stance on key issues. Here's a quick rundown on a woman who is sure to be one of the top news stories for months to come.

Ambition: From Nancy to Perry
As a child, Ms. Sotomayor loved Nancy Drew mysteries and had aspirations to become a police officer. When she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, a childhood doctor told her that career wouldn't be possible. So, instead, she focused her considerable energy on law. Watching an episode of "Perry Mason" in which the camera settles on the judge at the end of the show, she realized that the person with the gavel "was the most important player in the room." It's a judgment call that searchers have noticed: For the first time in a long time, lookups on the fictional lawyer are soaring.

Background: Born in the Bronx
As soon as the nomination was announced, searches soared on "sotomayor biography" and "sotomayor background." Here's the scoop: She's 54 years old and comes from the Bronx, New York. Her parents came from Puerto Rico, and she grew up in a public housing project. After her father died when she was nine, her mother worked two jobs, and Sonia helped out by looking after her brother. She went on to graduate from Princeton summa cum laude and Yale law school.

Key cases
An article from Politico offers up a nice summary of some of Sotomayor's most important legal decisions. Over her career, she has ruled on topics ranging from abortion to affirmative action to gun control. Still, she isn't a prototypical liberal. Again according to Politico, she "resolved the cases in ways that complicate critics' efforts to peg her as a liberal." Time magazine calls her "moderately liberal." In particular, her decision on an affirmative action-related lawsuit brought on by firefighters has garnered a flurry of attention.

Healthy enough to serve?
Though it was never a secret that Sotomayor has type 1 diabetes, her nomination has focused renewed attention on the condition. By all accounts, she has diabetes under control. According to the AP, officials from the White House consulted with Sotomayor's doctors about her health before offering her the position. Though she must continue to carefully monitor her diabetes, she was given the go-ahead.

Family matters: Do they matter?
Among the avalanche of searches that came in following the nomination were a significant number of lookups for "sonia sotomayor family" and "is sonia sotomayor married." She was married to Kevin Edward Noonan while still a student at Princeton. The couple divorced in 1983 without children, and she has not remarried.

Will she be confirmed?
Anyone who remembers Robert Bork's failed nomination for the Supreme Court knows that just because you're nominated doesn't mean you'll be confirmed. In Sotomayor's case, experts seem to think she won't face much opposition. Why? According to Washington insiders, Republicans will fight the nomination, but they'll have to do so carefully. And, this article concludes, GOP senators "won't likely be able to stop her."