Justice Sonia Sotomayor officially joined the U.S. Supreme Court in a special ceremony Tuesday attended by President Obama; Vice President Joe Biden; her mother, Celina, and brother, Juan; entertainer Ricky Martin, retired Justice David Souter, the man she replaced; members of Congress; federal judges and former top Justice Department officials. The nation’s first Hispanic and third woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court took the oath of office again during Tuesday’s event. Actually, the rest of the court does not return for real work until today, when the justices hear arguments in a case involving campaign finance law. Attorney General Eric Holder presented Sotomayor’s ivory-colored commission from Obama. Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office, after which Sotomayor took her seat at the end of the bench to Roberts’ left, next to Justice Stephen Breyer. All her colleagues were in attendance.

 Just days after Attorney General Eric Holder urged the nation to stay vigilant in pressing for the maintenance and expansion of minority voting rights, the right-leaning U.S. Supreme Court Monday refused to broaden protections under federal voting rights laws. The 5-4 decision could prove crucial, since it has the potential to affect the redrawing of legislative boundaries after the 2010 Census. The ruling means that electoral districts must have a majority of Blacks or other people of color to benefit from a special provision of the Voting Rights Act. Did the Supreme Court turn its backs on Blacks? Read the rest.