Melissa Rogers: "Congratulations. And welcome to the Court." (Updated)

Well, that was quick. Chief Justice Roberts administered the judicial oath, and he used notes this time, which was a wise call. Justice Sotomayor's mother held what appeared to be a Bible and her brother stood beside her. The room was full. Roberts wore his robes, while Sotomayor wore a nice ivory suit. After she said the oath, Roberts said, "Congratulations. And welcome to the Court."

Then there was a long hug between mother and daughter, followed by a hug for her brother and a few people in the front row. She lingered only a few moments before departing through a side door. She's got to get to work!

Congratulations, Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

UPDATE: A YouTube video of the proceedings is here.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Interesting separation of powers note: "President Obama, who did not attend Saturday’s events, will be at a White House ceremony on Wednesday in Justice Sotomayor’s honor."

MORE: So that was Justice Anthony Kennedy in the front row at the public part of the swearing-in ceremony. Tony Mauro reports that he was the only justice other than Chief Justice Roberts who was in attendance. (That's not surprising; many if not most of the justices relocate for the summer or travel extensively.) Like Mauro, I found parts of the judicial oath to be especially notable in this context. Mauro said:

The judicial oath, which has remained roughly the same since the Judiciary Act of 1789, was full of phrases that seemed to resonate for Sotomayor in particular, given the confirmation debate over the role of empathy in her decision-making. She pledged to administer justice "without respect to persons," and to "do equal right to the poor and to the rich."

Justice Sotomayor's mother was holding the family Bible for the oath. There's a little more color below the fold from The Washington Post story.

From The Washington Post story:

The two-part ceremony at the court began with a Constitutional Oath, dating to the 1860s, that Roberts administered privately in the justices' conference room near the rear of the court building on Capitol Hill. They then walked to the court's paneled East Conference Room, where Sotomayor then took a Judicial Oath before about six relatives and friends, standing beneath a portrait of the renowned 19th-century chief justice, John Marshall. The court permitted the second oath to be broadcast on television, marking the first live coverage of such a ceremony in the institution's history.

Besides Roberts, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy attended the ceremony, as did two members of the White House counsel's office--who had helped select Sotomayor and shepherd her through the confirmation process. Friends whom Sotomayor invited included Robert Katzmann, with whom she served on the U.S. Second Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, and Rep. Nydia Velasquez (D-N.Y.) The new justice attended a reception after the ceremony. . . .

Her swearing-in took place on a Saturday to accommodate the schedules of relatives and friends attending from out of town. . . .

Friends . . . said that, in the weeks since her confirmation hearings ended last month, Sotomayor, known for prodigious working hours, has begun reading to prepare for the first cases she will help to decide. . . .

After she was sworn in, Sotomayor went to a barbecue with her family and friends in Annandale, according to Dawn Cardi, a close friend who came from New York for the ceremony.

But before they left the court, Cardi said, friends were given a tour of the building. When they reached Sotomayor's chambers, a brass plaque with her name already was on the door. The new justice was seated to greet them at her desk.