Sometimes Supreme Court justices surprise you with their decisions - you think they're going to vote one way, but they vote a different way, and I keep an open mind about that. But I think a moral compass is really important for a Supreme Court justice, as it is for any political appointee.

I was a journalism major in college, went to law school, and became a federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C. I loved it and was with the Department of Justice for years.

The difficulty of being Afro-Latina, in general, is the lack of acceptance in both communities.

I had the benefit of parents who believed deeply in my ability. And they were teenagers when they had me - they were teenagers when they got married - but they instilled in me that you can do anything and that brains were most important, that passion was important, and drive.

When you come through a business education, a lot of what they teach you is to make decisions through analysis, and logic and rationale, and I'm a big believer in that. But I also believe in the power of instinct. The truth is you're never going to have a perfect answer or view of how it is going to work.

When I'm not writing or tweaking my computer, I do embroidery. When I'm not plunging into the past, tweaking, or embroidering, I'm reading books about history, computers, or embroidery.

I spent my childhood in the country and started reading even before going to school. There was nothing else in my life but sketching and reading.

When I was at school you got an overall general education on many things, even just basic facts.