You always wonder whether the attacks on my capabilities came from an honest evaluation of my accomplishments or from stereotypical presumptions that we, people of color, just can't do it, for some reason. This is, for an accomplished Latino, an accomplished African American, an accomplished anyone who disproves stereotypes, it's a constant battle in your life.

Whether born from experience or inherent physiological or cultural differences...our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging.

I am an ordinary person who has been blessed with extraordinary opportunities and experiences. Today is one of those experiences.

In examining witnesses, I learned to ask general questions so as to elicit details with powerful sensory associations: the colors, the sounds, the smells that lodge an image in the mind and put the listener in the burning house.

There are no bystanders in life [...] Our humanity makes us each a part of something greater than ourselves.

When I call myself an affirmative action baby, I'm talking about the essence of what affirmative action was when it started.

Without question, so many people, throughout my life, never think of Puerto Rico as part of the United States. Many people have no idea what the relationship is between Puerto Rico and the United States. And certainly, I have been asked if we are citizens.