BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) -- For the first time, Brazil has appointed a woman to the
                  bench of its Supreme Court.

                  President Fernando Henrique Cardoso nominated federal court judge Ellen
                  Northfleet, 52, to replace Supreme Court justice Octavio Gallotti, who retired last
                  week.

                  "You have entered history," Cardoso was quoted as saying when he told
                  Northfleet of the appointment late Tuesday.

                  The appointment must be confirmed by the Senate and is expected to face some
                  opposition because Supreme Court judges are usually chosen from the Superior
                  Court circuit where Northfleet did not preside. The president of the Superior
                  Court, Paulo Costa Leite, said the appointment represented a break in judicial
                  hierarchy.

                  Copyright 2000 The Associated Press.