Sandra Day O'Connor: Career accomplishments and significance
- Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor just announced her retirement from public life after being diagnosed with dementia 'some time ago'
- She made history after being named the first woman to the U.S. Supreme Court
- Before serving on the court, O'Connor also broke ground for women in politics
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Who replaced O'Connor in the Supreme Court?
In 2006 O’Connor retired from the Supreme Court and was replaced by Samuel Alito.
Who was the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court?
Full Article. Sandra Day O’Connor, née Sandra Day, (born March 26, 1930, El Paso, Texas, U.S.), associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. She was the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
What honors did Sandra O'Connor receive?
The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia honored her with the Liberty Medal. Sandra O’Connor received the Presidential Medal of Freedom on August 12, 2009.
When did Sandra Day O'Connor receive the Medal of Freedom?
On August 12, 2009, Sandra Day O’Connor received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama. The award is our nation’s highest civilian honor. As at when she arrived on the Court, there was no restroom for women near the Courtroom.
What district is Sandra Day O'Connor High School in?
There is a school in the Deer Valley School District in North Phoenix named in her honor. The school’s name is Sandra Day O’Connor High School.
What rifle did Sandra have?
Growing up, she spent her free time hunting coyotes and jackrabbits with .22-caliber rifle. As a rancher’s daughter, Sandra was allowed to get her hands dirty and do some of the work on the ranch. At a young age, she even learnt how to change tires on some farm vehicles.
Why did Sandra O'Connor retire?
He died on November 11, 2009. Justice Sandra O’Connor’s decision to retire from the court in 2005 was partly due to her husband’s declining health.
What was O'Connor's fear of the Supreme Court?
Her nomination, which was on August 19, 1981, was met with some level of protests from Pro-life groups, who thought she was in favor of removing anti-abortion laws. The fear emanating from those groups was that O’Connor would support the Supreme Court’s ruling on Roe v. Wade (1973) – a ruling that allowed for abortion to be legal in the first trimester of pregnancy. Also some conservative Republican politicians – such as U.S. Senators Jesse Helms and Don Nickles – telephoned Regan to show their opposition towards her nomination.
How many letters did Justice O'Connor receive?
Did you know: Over 60,000 letters from the public were sent to Justice O’Connor in just the first year on the bench?
Where did Sandra Day O'Connor teach?
In the fall of 2007, O'Connor and W. Scott Bales taught a course at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.
When did Sandra Day O'Connor hold a conference?
The Sandra Day O'Connor Project on the State of the judiciary, named for O'Connor, held annual conferences from 2006 through 2008 on the independence of the judiciary.
What did the O'Connor decision in Missouri v. Jenkins mean?
Jenkins rulings, O'Connor voted with the majority that district courts had no authority to require the state of Missouri to increase school funding in order to counteract racial inequality. In the 1991 Freeman v. Pitts case, O'Connor joined a concurring opinion in a plurality, agreeing that a school district that had formerly been under judicial review for racial segregation could be freed of this review, even though not all desegregation targets had been met. Law professor Herman Schwartz criticized these rulings, writing that in both cases "both the fact and effects of segregation were still present."
What did Justice O'Connor do in the court case?
Justice O'Connor was unpredictable in many of her court decisions, especially those regarding First Amendment Establishment Clause issues. Avoiding ideology, she decided on a case-by-case basis and voted with careful deliberation in a way that she felt benefited individual rights and the Constitution (which she viewed to be "an ever changing work in progress.") Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said, "O'Connor was a conservative, but she saw the complexity of church-state issues and tried to choose a course that respected the country's religious diversity" (Hudson 2005). O'Connor voted in favor of religious institutions, such as in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, Mitchell v. Helms, and Rosenberger v. University of Virginia. Conversely, in Lee v. Weisman she was part of the majority in the case that saw religious prayer and pressure to stand in silence at a graduation ceremony as part of a religious act that coerced people to support or to participate in religion, which is strictly prohibited by the Establishment Clause. This is consistent with a similar case, Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe, involving prayer at a school football game. In this case, O'Connor joined the majority opinion that stated prayer at school football games violates the Establishment Clause. O'Connor was the first justice to articulate the "no endorsement" standard for the Establishment Clause. In Lynch v. Donnelly, O'Connor signed onto a five-justice majority opinion holding that a nativity scene in a public Christmas display did not violate the First Amendment. She penned a concurrence in that case, opining that the crèche was not violative of the Establishment Clause because it did not express an endorsement or disapproval of any religion.
Where did Sandra Day live?
She grew up on a 198,000-acre cattle ranch near Duncan, Arizona. The ranch was nine miles from the nearest paved road. The family home did not have running water or electricity until Sandra was seven years old. As a youth she owned a .22-caliber rifle and would shoot coyotes and jackrabbits. She began driving as soon as she could see over the dashboard and had to learn to change flat tires herself. Sandra had two younger siblings, a sister and a brother, respectively eight and ten years her junior. Her sister was Ann Day, who served in the Arizona Legislature. She later wrote a book with her brother, H. Alan Day, Lazy B: Growing up on a Cattle Ranch in the American West (2002), about her childhood experiences on the ranch. For most of her early schooling, Day lived in El Paso with her maternal grandmother, and attended school at the Radford School for Girls, a private school. The family cattle ranch was too far from any schools, although Day was able to return to the ranch for holidays and the summer. Day spent her eighth-grade year living at the ranch and riding a bus 32 miles to school. She graduated sixth in her class at Austin High School in El Paso in 1946.
When did Justice O'Connor retire?
Justice O'Connor and her husband John O'Connor with President George W. Bush in May 2004. Justice O'Connor's letter to Bush, dated July 1, 2005, announcing her retirement. By 2005, the composition of the Court had been unchanged for eleven years, the second-longest period in American history without any such change.
Did Sandra Day O'Connor hire a law clerk?
O'Connor hired a law clerk for the October 2015 term, but did not hire a law clerk for the subsequent term. The Sandra Day O'Connor Project on the State of the judiciary, named for O'Connor, held annual conferences from 2006 through 2008 on the independence of the judiciary.
What is Sandra Day O'Connor's legacy?
The Legacy of Sandra Day O’Connor. Justice O'Connor is a peerless trailblazer who has left a lasting impact on the history of the United States. Her legacy lives on in the many areas described below and through the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute, which she founded in 2009 with a mission to advance civil discourse, civic engagement, ...
Who founded the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute?
Founded in 2009 by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the vision of the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute is to create a nation where important policy decisions affecting our future are made through a process of critical analysis of facts and informed participation of all citizens.
What did Justice O'Connor do?
And as a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, she similarly championed civility and the building of personal bonds and relationships between the justices, even when they strongly disagreed.
What did Justice O'Connor do for the community?
Justice O'Connor promoted civics education and emphasized its importance throughout her career. After retiring from the Supreme Court, she spearheaded the creation of an online games platform for learning civics that is used today by more than 5 million students in all 50 states.
How many cases did Justice O'Connor write?
Justice O'Connor's significant impact can be seen in the fact that in 360 Supreme Court cases decided 5-4, she cast the deciding vote for the majority, including 114 cases where she wrote an opinion. Multiple observers have called her the most influential woman in American history.
How long did Justice O'Connor serve on the Supreme Court?
During her nearly 25 years on the United States Supreme Court, Justice O'Connor developed a reputation for independent, rigorously fact-based legal thinking and analysis. Justice O'Connor often focused on the real-world implications of any given Court decision and prioritized the impacts on real people over purely ideological or theoretical considerations. This prevented her from being pigeonholed into a simple "liberal" or "conservative" box.
Who was the first female senator in Arizona?
Legislation / Legislatures. In 1974, then-Senator O'Connor became the majority leader of the Arizona State Senate, the first female majority leader of any state senate in the United States.
Who is Sandra Day O’Connor’s husband?
O’Connor was married to John Jay O’Connor from 1952 until his death in 2009, sadly from Alzheimer’s disease.
What disease did Sandra Day O'Connor have?
Supreme Court, has just revealed that she will be retiring from public life after being diagnosed with dementia, ‘probably’ Alzheimer’s disease , specifically. O’Connor blazed trails for women in the legal and justice fields after being appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1981.
Who was the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court?
Full-screen. Read More. Sandra Day O’Connor is a retired Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court, notable for being the first woman to serve on the court. She was born in El Paso, Texas on March 26, 1930.
Who said "no illness or condition can take away the inspiration she provides for those who will follow the many paths she?
Chief Justice John Roberts said he was ‘saddened to learn’ about O’Connor’s diagnosis but also noted that 'no illness or condition can take away the inspiration she provides for those who will follow the many paths she has blazed.'
Is Sandra Day O'Connor Alzheimer's?
Sandra Day O’Connor Alzheimer’s diagnosis. On October 23, 2018, O ’Connor revealed that she has early stage dementia, ‘ probably Alzheimer’s disease,’ and, as a result, would be ‘no longer able to participate in public life.’. The retired US Supreme Court justice revealed the information in a letter addressed to ‘my fellows Americans’ ...
What did Justice O'Connor say about women?
Thanks to Justice O'Connor, American women know that there is no one mold that the successful female must fit; there is no one set of positions she must take. O'Connor was about as far from this position of enforced orthodoxy as a woman could be.
Who appointed Justice O'Connor?
Justice O'Connor's appointment in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan led some to claim that she would be the "women's" Justice. Her gender was her early defining characteristic - but she made sure it would not be her primary defining characteristic on the Court.
Why was Raich important?
Raich was crucial, for it was the case that would test whether this Court had adopted federalism as a cover for serving conservative policy goals, or on a principled basis. Justice O'Connor's principles were not in doubt. But what about the other, supposedly-pro-federalism Justices? Two were a disappointment: Justice Scalia voted with the federal government, as did Justice Kennedy.
What did liberals cry out in pain when the first federalism decisions were reached?
In no uncertain terms, one after the other accused the conservative Justices voting in favor of states' rights of backing an anti-civil rights agenda, and of using federalism solely as a tool to oppress others. "Strident" cannot begin to describe their tone.
What are liberals lobbying for?
Lately, liberals have turned to various states to lobby, for instance, for the use of marijuana for medical purposes and assisted suicide. That has led to cases like
Who introduced those other believers into the equation with her endorsement test?
Justice O'Connor introduced those other believers into the equation with her "endorsement test." She asked this novel - indeed, in light of this country's present diversity, brilliant -- question: How would a reasonable nonadherent feel in the face of the government's challenged action?
Was Justice O'Connor a Republican?
Justice O'Connor came onto the Court as a true-blue Goldwater/Reagan Republican - and that was what she remained. The politics of the Republican Party changed around her, but she remained committed to the principles she held when she was nominated - states' rights, separation of church and state, and the rule of law.
What did Sandra Day O'Connor say about abortion?
She said she was opposed to abortion as a personal matter, as “birth control or otherwise,” but she added, “I’m over the hill. I am not going to be pregnant anymore, so it is perhaps easy for me.” (She was fifty-one and had undergone a hysterectomy three months earlier.) She was circumspect with everyone, including her family. It is almost certain that she never favored outlawing abortion altogether, but it is also likely that she struggled in her own mind to settle on the proper legal limits. In the coming years, when the Roe decision came under fire from conservative activists and the Supreme Court’s balance shifted toward the Republican Party, her struggle became the whole country’s.
When was Sandra Day O'Connor nominated to the Supreme Court?
When, in 1981 , Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O’Connor to the Supreme Court, her views on abortion became a source of intense speculation. Photograph by Horst P. Horst / Condé Nast / Getty. In many U.S. states, abortion was once a crime.
What did Justice O'Connor say about the Akron case?
In her steady-handed script, she wrote, “There is simply no justification in Constitutional theory for having a different standard or test for the different trimesters.
Did O'Connor want to restrict abortions?
O’Connor was willing to let the states restrict abortions as long as they did not put an “undue burden” on the woman’s right to choose. The phrase “undue burden” had appeared in the Reagan Administration’s brief.
What is Sandra Day O'Connor's role in the Supreme Court?
Sandra Day O'Connor has been the deciding vote in many important Supreme Court decisions affecting civil rights, environmental protection, personal privacy, voting rights, protection against discrimination and more. If she is replaced by someone who doesn't share her fair and impartial perspective, these are among the key 5-4 decisions in danger of being overturned:
What did Sandra Day O'Connor say about the Indianapolis roadblocks?
In an opinion written for the 6-3 majority, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said that the reasoning behind the Indianapolis roadblocks -- chiefly that the benefit to the public outweighs the inconvenience -- cannot justify the use of unconstitutional methods by the police.
Who said state endorsement of religion sends a message to non-adherents that they are outsider?
Donnelly , in which she observed that state endorsement of religion "sends a message to non-adherents that they are outsiders, not full members of the political community.". Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a Reagan appointee, wrote that state endorsement of religion, "sends a message to non-adherents that they are outsiders, ...
Overview
Supreme Court career
On July 7, 1981, Reagan – who had pledged during his 1980 presidential campaign to appoint the first woman to the Court – announced he would nominate O'Connor as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court to replace the retiring Potter Stewart. O'Connor received notification from President Reagan of her nomination on the day prior to the announcement and did not know that sh…
Early life and education
Sandra Day was born in El Paso, Texas, the daughter of Harry Alfred Day, a rancher, and Ada Mae (Wilkey). She grew up on a 198,000-acre cattle ranch near Duncan, Arizona. The ranch was nine miles from the nearest paved road. The family home did not have running water or electricity until Sandra was seven years old. As a youth she owned a .22-caliber rifle and would shoot coyotes and jackrabbits. She began driving as soon as she could see over the dashboard and had to lear…
Early career and marriage
While in her final year at Stanford Law School, Day began dating John Jay O'Connor III who was one class year behind her. Six months after her graduation, on December 20, 1952, Day and O'Connor married at her family's ranch.
Upon graduation from law school O'Connor had difficulty finding a paying job as an attorney because of her gender. O'Connor found employment as a deputy county attorney in San Mateo, C…
Retirement
On December 12, 2000, The Wall Street Journal reported that O'Connor was reluctant to retire with a Democrat in the presidency: "At an Election Night party at the Washington, D.C., home of Mary Ann Stoessel, widow of former Ambassador Walter Stoessel, the justice's husband, John O'Connor, mentioned to others her desire to step down, according to three witnesses. But Mr. O'Con…
Post-Supreme Court career
During a March 2006 speech at Georgetown University, O'Connor said some political attacks on the independence of the courts pose a direct threat to the constitutional freedoms of Americans. She said "any reform of the system is debatable as long as it is not motivated by retaliation for decisions that political leaders disagree with", also noting that she was "against judicial reforms drive…
Personal life
Upon her appointment to the Supreme Court, O'Connor and her husband moved to the Kalorama area of Washington, D.C. The O'Connors became active in the Washington D.C. social scene. O'Connor played tennis and golf in her spare time. She is a baptized member of the Episcopal Church.
O'Connor was successfully treated for breast cancer in 1988 (she also had her appendix remove…
See also
• List of justices of the Supreme Court of the United States
• List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 8)
• List of United States Supreme Court justices by time in office
• United States Supreme Court cases during the Burger Court