Supreme Court

Born: 1954 Position: U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
Nominated to the bench by President George H.W. Bush in 1991 and elevated to the appeals court in 1998 by President Bill Clinton, Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court.

Born: 1950 Position: Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
Wood worked at the antitrust division of the Justice Department during the Clinton administration, and was nominated to the court by Clinton in 1995.

Born: 1960 Position: Solicitor General
A White House lawyer during the Clinton administration, Kagan was confirmed as the nation's top litigator in March. She was most recently dean of Harvard Law School.

Born: 1955 Position: Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court
Sears is the first African-American woman in the nation to head a state supreme court. Although her current term runs until the end of 2010, she has announced she will step down from the job at the end of June.

Born: 1957 Position: Secretary, Department of Homeland Security
Napolitano holds a key post in the Obama administration but is still considered a possible Supreme Court nominee. A former two-term Arizona governor, she was also the first female U.S. attorney in the state.

Born: 1959 Position: Governor of Michigan
Born in Canada, Granholm is a Harvard Law graduate who served as attorney general before winning election as governor in 2002. She frequently campaigned with Obama during the presidential campaign.