U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is scheduled to speak at the University of Vermont later this month.
Sotomayor, 71, will be at the Ira Allen Chapel on the evening of October 20 for a conversation with university president Marlene Tromp, the university confirmed on Thursday.
The appearance, part of the 2025 Leahy Public Policy Forum series, comes as Sotomayor promotes her new children’s picture book, Just Shine! How to Be a Better You, inspired by the life of her late mother.
Sotomayor has spoken about her mother’s influence on her life and has answered pre-submitted questions during previous stops on her fall book tour.
The university says it has been tight-lipped about the justice’s visit to Vermont due to security concerns.
Earlier this week, it sent out “non transferable” invitations to a select group of recipients, including politicians and retired journalists, who were required to register by midnight Wednesday, according to emails obtained by Seven Days. Students, faculty and other members of the campus community were then notified of the event Thursday afternoon. Tickets sold out within 10 minutes, according to a spokesperson.
Nominated by Barack Obama in 2009, Sotomayor is the first Latina and only the third woman to ever ascend to the high court. She previously visited Vermont in 2011. She dined with then-senator Patrick Leahy, who had led her confirmation hearings.
She remains the longest-serving current member of the court’s liberal bloc and in recent months has issued pointed public remarks that many have taken to be implicit criticisms of President Donald Trump.
Her upcoming Vermont visit will come a few weeks into the court’s latest term, which is expected to feature cases that could have broad consequences for Trump’s agenda.