**A key Senate panel has voted in favour of Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the US Supreme Court.**The majority-Democrat Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13-6 to back Ms Sotomayor.
Her nomination will now go to the full Senate, where she is expected to be confirmed as the court’s first Hispanic justice next week.
Her nomination has been vocally opposed by a chorus of Republicans who believe she is too liberal.
But correspondents say Ms Sotomayor is unlikely to alter the ideological balance on the court as she would replace retiring Justice David Souter, a liberal.
The Supreme Court is the final arbiter of the US Constitution, and its nine members are given lifetime appointments, though they can voluntarily resign or retire.
It is called upon to rule on issues that spark some of the greatest controversy in US society - such as abortion, gun rights and national security issues.
Past probed
One Republican, Lindsey Graham, joined all 12 Democrats on the Committee in approving Ms Sotomayor’s nomination, which came after she and witnesses spent days testifying in front of the panel.
Ms Sotomayor, 55, responded cautiously to questions on these “hot-button issues” when questioned by the Committee - prompting some members to complain that they were unable to gauge fully her stance on them.
The powerful National Rifle Association has come out against Ms Sotomayor over her record on gun rights, though some commentators suggest she has made few definitive statements on the issue.
But her supporters say she has a reliable record - and they cite her “inspiring” rise from a New York public housing project to respected judicial scholar and justice.