Obama chooses supreme court judge

An Hispanic American has been chosen by Barack Obama to become the next supreme court judge in the first such nomination in the US.The US president said on Tuesday that New York judge Sonia Sotomayor was "an inspiring woman who I believe will make a great justice".Sotomayor said "my heart today is bursting with gratitude'' and called the nomination the "most humbling honour of my life''. If confirmed by the US senate, Sotomayor, 54, will succeed David Souter, who is retiring. Both are considered to be "liberal" justices and the appointment is unlikely to change the ideological balance of the court, which shifted to the right under the Bush administration.