August 8, 2009 Raw Video: Sotomayor swearing in Ceremony Play video

(NECN: Washington, DC) - After 17 years as a Federal Judge, Sonia Sotomayor is the newest junior member of the nation's highest court.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts swore in Sotomayor twice at the Supreme Court.

The first ceremony was private.

The second was in front of Sotomayor's friends, family and the media.

It marked the first time the oath-taking ceremony is open to television cameras in the court's history.

The Court will have its own welcoming ceremony for Sotomayor next month, and President Barack Obama is having a White House reception for her on Wednesday.

Suffolk Law Professor Renee Landers was in our NECN studios to talk about ceremony and the impact that Judge Sotomayor will have on the nation's highest court.

Sotomayor has little more than a month to prepare for that first case.

The court typically is quiet in the summer, but this year the Justices scheduled arguments in a key campaign finance case for Sept. 9.

The new term doesn't formally kick off until Oct. 5.

Sotomayor is the first democratic nominee in 15 years, and just the 3rd woman to sit on the Supreme Court.

Her achievements have inspired many.

The 55 year-old, Ivy league graduate, was confirmed by a 61 to 38 vote in the senate Thursday.