 It has been claimed that " only since the George H. W. Bush administration have Hispanic candidates received serious consideration from presidents in the selection process " , and that Emilio M. Garza ( considered for the vacancy eventually given to Clarence Thomas ) was the first Hispanic judge for whom such an appointment was contemplated . Subsequently , Bill Clinton was reported by several sources to have considered José A. Cabranes for a Supreme Court nomination on both occasions when a Court vacancy opened during the Clinton presidency . The possibility of a Hispanic Justice returned during the George W. Bush Presidency , with various reports suggesting that Emilio Garza , Alberto Gonzales , and Consuelo M. Callahan were under consideration for the vacancy left by the retirement of Sandra Day O 'Connor . O 'Connor 's seat eventually went to Samuel Alito , however . Speculation about a Hispanic nomination arose again after the election of Barack Obama . In 2009 , Obama appointed Sonia Sotomayor , a woman of Puerto Rican descent , to be the first unequivocally Hispanic Justice . Both the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials and the Hispanic National Bar Association count Sotomayor as the first Hispanic justice . 
