Sandra Day O'Connor

Sandra Day O'Connor (born March 26 1930) is an American jurist and former politician who served as the first female Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. Due to her case-by-case approach to jurisprudence and her relatively moderate political views, she was the crucial swing vote of the Court for many of her final years on the bench. In 2004, Forbes magazine called her the fourth most powerful woman in the United States and the sixth most powerful in the world.

Prior to joining the Supreme Court, she was a politician and jurist in Arizona. She was nominated to the Court by President Ronald Reagan and served for over twenty-four years. On July 1 2005, she announced her intention to retire effective upon the confirmation of her successor. Justice Samuel Alito, nominated to take her seat in October 2005, received confirmation on January 31 2006.

Life and history

O'Connor was born Sandra Day in El Paso, Texas and grew up on a cattle ranch in the southeastern Arizona town of Duncan. She later wrote a book titled Lazy B : Growing up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest about her childhood experiences on the ranch with her brother H. Alan Day. She attended Stanford University, where she received her B.A. in economics in 1950. She continued at the Stanford Law School for her LL.B., graduating in two years (instead of the customary three), serving on the Stanford Law Review, and graduating toward the top of a class of 102, of which future Chief Justice William Rehnquist was valedictorian. (O'Connor actually dated Rehnquist for a period of time. )

In 1952 she married John Jay O'Connor III, with whom she had three sons.

In spite of her accomplishments at law school, no law firm in California was willing to hire her as a lawyer, although one firm did offer her a position as a legal secretary. She therefore turned to public service, taking a position as Deputy County Attorney of San Mateo County, California from 1952–1953 and as a civilian attorney for Quartermaster Market Center, Frankfurt, Germany from 1954–1957. From 1958–1960, she practiced law in the Maryvale area of the Phoenix metropolitan area, and served as Assistant Attorney General of Arizona from 1965–1969.

In 1969 she was appointed to the Arizona State Senate and was subsequently re-elected as a Republican to two two-year terms. In 1973, she became the first woman to serve as a state senate majority leader in any state.

In 1975, she was elected judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court and served until 1979, when she was appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals by Democratic governor Bruce Babbitt. During her time in Arizona state government, she served in all three branches.

On August 19 1981, President Reagan, who had pledged during the 1980 presidential campaign to appoint the first woman to the Supreme Court, nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, replacing the retiring Potter Stewart. (O'Connor was not the first woman nominated to the Court: Mildred Lillie was, in 1971, but her nomination was soon withdrawn.) O'Connor was confirmed by the Senate 99–0 on September 21 and took her seat September 25. In her first year on the Court, O'Connor received over sixty thousand letters from the public, more than any other justice in history. O'Connor was unprepared for the scrutiny that came with being the first woman on the Court, and was relieved when Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined her in 1993.

The same year O'Connor rose to national prominence, the film First Monday in October — which focused on a conservative justice (Jill Clayburgh) being the first female appointed to the Supreme Court — was released. The timing was little more than an amusing coincidence, as October had been written years before O'Connor's appointment.

In 1985, at a Washington Press Club dinner, an intoxicated Washington Redskins player (John Riggins) drew widespread scorn when he told O'Connor: "Come on, Sandy Baby, loosen up. You're too tight," then passed out on the floor. The next day, the women with whom she shared an early morning exercise class presented her with a T-shirt that read: "Loosen up at the Supreme Court." She apparently bore him no ill will; years later, when he made his acting debut at a local playhouse, she gave him a dozen roses on opening night. O'Connor made her own brief foray into acting one night in 1996 with a surprise appearance as Queen Isabel in a Shakespeare Theatre production of Henry V.

In 1989, a letter O'Connor wrote regarding three Court rulings on Christian heritage was used by a group of conservative Arizona Republicans in their claim that America was a "Christian nation". O'Connor, an Episcopalian, said, "It was not my intention to express a personal view on the subject of the inquiry."

Supreme Court jurisprudence

Sandra O'Connor was part of the federalism movement and approached each case as narrowly as possible, avoiding generalizations that might later "paint her into a corner" for future cases. Although she formed part of the conservative axis during the later years of the Burger Court, with the departure of the last members of the liberal Warren Court, she was later regarded as occupying the ideological center. It was both O'Connor's dedication to asserting her judicial power over that of other federal institutions and her pragmatic circumspection that gave her a deciding centrist vote for many of the Rehnquist Court's cases.

Here are just some of the cases in which O'Connor was the deciding vote:

McConnell v. FEC, 124 S.Ct. 619 (2003) : This was the ruling that upheld the constitutionality of most of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill regulating "soft money" contributions.
Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003) and Gratz v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 244 (2003) : O'Connor wrote the opinion of the court in Grutter and joined the majority in Gratz. In this pair of cases, the University of Michigan's undergraduate admissions program was held to have engaged in unconstitutional reverse discrimination, but the more limited type of affirmative action in the University of Michigan Law School's admissions program was held to have been constitutional.
Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, 536 U.S. 639 (2002): O'Connor joined the majority holding that the use of school vouchers for religious schools did not violate the First Amendment's Establishment Clause.
Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, 530 U.S. 640 (2000): O'Connor joined the majority in holding that New Jersey violated the Boy Scouts' freedom of association by prohibiting it from discriminating against its troop masters on the basis of sexual orientation.
United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549 (1995): O'Connor joined a majority holding unconstitutional Gun-Free School Zones Act as beyond Congress's Commerce Clause power.

On December 12, 2000, O'Connor joined with six other (ruling to stop the ongoing Florida recount) and four other (ruling to allow no further recounts) justices to rule on the Bush v. Gore case that ceased challenges to the results of the 2000 election. Some charged that the Supreme Court interceded unfairly in a political issue. Others noted that the Court specifically restricted the precedent-setting effect of the decision by holding, "Our consideration is limited to the present circumstances, for the problem of equal protection in election processes generally presents many complexities."

Justice O'Connor played an important role in other notable cases, such as:

Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, 492 U.S. 490 (1989): This decision held that state regulation of abortion was constitutional if it provided exceptions for the health of the mother and if it didn't ban abortions contrary to the trimester regime of Roe v. Wade. Although O'Connor joined the majority, which also included Rehnquist, Scalia, Kennedy, and White, in a concurring opinion she refused to explicitly overturn Roe.
Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003) : O'Connor wrote a concurring opinion contending that state laws that prohibited homosexual sodomy, but not heterosexual sodomy, violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Although she agreed with the majority in holding such laws unconstitutional, she did not join in the opinion that they violated the substantive due process afforded by the Due Process Clause. Under a ruling under the Equal Protection Clause, states could still prohibit sodomy, provided they prohibited both homosexual sodomy and heterosexual sodomy.

On February 22, 2005, with Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justice John Paul Stevens (who was senior to her) absent, O'Connor presided over oral arguments in the case of Kelo v. City of New London, becoming the first woman to preside over an oral argument before the Supreme Court.

O'Connor's pragmatic case-by-case approach, though it placed her in the center of the court, also drew fire from numerous observers. Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer, for instance, described her as lacking a judicial philosophy and instead displaying "political positioning embedded in a social agenda." Conservative commentator Ann Coulter called O'Connor "Reagan's biggest mistake" on the occasion of her retirement. ^*

Abortion

O'Connor's rulings on the issue of abortion were those that were perhaps most widely considered controversial. In her confirmation hearings and early days on the court, she was carefully ambiguous on the issue, as some conservatives questioned her anti-abortion credentials on the basis of certain of her votes in the Arizona legislature. O'Connor generally dissented from opinions in the 1980s which took an expansive view of Roe v. Wade and criticized that decision's "trimester approach" sharply in her dissent in 1983's Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health.

In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, O'Connor's opinion introduced a new test that reined in the unrestricted freedom from regulation during the first trimester as proscribed by Roe v. Wade. Whereas before the regulatory powers of the State could not intervene so early in the pregnancy, O'Connor opened a regulatory portal where a State could enact measures so long as they did not place an "undue burden" on a woman's right to an abortion.

Foreign law

O'Connor was a vigorous defender of the citing of foreign laws in judicial decisions. In a well-publicized October 28 2003 speech at the Southern Center for International Studies, O'Connor said:

The impressions we create in this world are important and can leave their mark... There is talk today about the "internationalization of legal relations." We are already seeing this in American courts, and should see it increasingly in the future. This does not mean, of course, that our courts can or should abandon their character as domestic institutions. But conclusions reached by other countries and by the international community, although not formally binding upon our decisions, should at times constitute persuasive authority in American courts—what is sometimes called "transjudicialism". ^*

In the speech she noted the 2002 Supreme Court case Atkins v. Virginia, in which the majority decision (which included her) cited disapproval of the death penalty in Europe as part of its argument.

This speech, and the general concept of relying on international law and opinion, was widely criticized by conservatives. In May 2004, the House of Representatives responded by passing a non-binding resolution, the "Reaffirmation of American Independence Resolution", stating that "U.S. judicial decisions should not be based on any foreign laws, court decisions, or pronouncements of foreign governments unless they are relevant to determining the meaning of American constitutional and statutory law." [http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/fl24_feeney/ResConstitutionSubPassage.html

Retirement

Justice O'Connor was successfully treated for breast cancer in 1988 (she also had her appendix removed that year). One side effect of this experience was that there was perennial speculation over the next seventeen years that she might retire from the Court.

On December 12 2000, the Wall Street Journal reported O'Connor was reluctant to retire with a Democrat in office:

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'Connor said his wife would be reluctant to retire if a Democrat were in the White House and would choose her replacement. Justice O'Connor declined to comment.

By 2005, the membership of the Supreme Court had been static for eleven years, the second longest period without a change in the Court's composition in American history. Chief Justice William Rehnquist was widely expected to be the first justice to retire during President George W. Bush's term, due to his age and his battle with cancer. However, on July 1 2005 it was O'Connor who announced her retirement. In her letter to President Bush she stated that her retirement from active service would take effect upon the confirmation of her successor.

On July 19, President Bush nominated D.C. Circuit Judge John G. Roberts, Jr. to succeed Justice O'Connor, answering months of speculation as to Bush Supreme Court candidates. O'Connor heard the news over the car radio on the way back from a fishing trip. She felt he was an excellent and highly qualified choice – he had argued numerous cases before the Court during her tenure – but was somewhat disappointed her replacement was not a woman.

On July 21, O'Connor spoke to a 9th U.S. Circuit conference and blamed the televising of Senate Judiciary Committee hearings for escalated conflicts over judges. She expressed sadness over attacks on the independent judiciary, and praised President Reagan for opening doors for women.

O'Connor had expected to leave the high court before the start of the next term on October 3 2005. However, on September 3, Rehnquist died (O'Connor spoke at his funeral). Two days later, President Bush withdrew Roberts as his nominee for O'Connor's seat and instead appointed him to fill the vacant office of Chief Justice. O'Connor agreed to stay on the court until her replacement was confirmed. On October 3, President Bush nominated White House Counsel Harriet Miers to replace O'Connor. On October 27, Miers asked President Bush to withdraw her nomination; Bush accepted her request later the same day. On October 31, President Bush nominated Third Circuit Judge Samuel Alito to replace O'Connor; Alito was confirmed and sworn in on January 31 2006.

Her last opinion, Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of New England, written for a unanimous court, was a procedural decision that involved abortion.

O'Connor has stated that after leaving the high court, she plans to travel, spend time with family, and, due to her fear of the attacks on judges by legislators, will work with the American Bar Association on a commission to help explain the separation of powers and the role of judges.

Speech on independent judiciary

On March 9 2006, during a speech at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., O'Connor said some Republican leaders' attacks on the independence of the courts pose a direct threat to the constitutional freedoms of Americans. She said any reform of system is debatable as long as it is not motivated by "nakedly partisan reasoning" retaliation because congressmen or senators don't like the result of the cases. Courts interpret the law as it was written, not as the congressmen might have wished it was written, and "it takes a lot of degeneration before a country falls into dictatorship, but we should avoid these ends by avoiding these beginnings". While the remarks received coverage on NPR and in the UK Guardian, it received scant coverage in mainstream U.S. newspapers; the San Francisco Chronicle picked it up five days after NPR; leading papers such as the Washington Post, New York Times, and Los Angeles Times did not cover it at all. [http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=31218

Other facts and information

O'Connor is an avid golfer who scored a hole-in-one in 2000 at the Paradise Valley Country Club in Arizona.

In 2002, O'Connor was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame.

In 2004, she gave a reading during the state funeral of Ronald Reagan.

In 2005, she wrote a children's book titled Chico (ISBN 0525474528), which gives an autobiographical description of her childhood.

On October 4 2005, President Gene Nichol of the College of William and Mary announced that O'Connor had accepted the largely ceremonial role of becoming the 23rd Chancellor of the College, replacing Henry Kissinger, and following in the position held by Margaret Thatcher, Chief Justice Warren Burger, and President George Washington. The Investiture Ceremony was held April 7 2006.

On October 18 2005, Justice O'Connor was appointed Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses. She participated in the 117th annual Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California on January 2 2006 and started the 92nd Rose Bowl game with a coin toss on January 4. Coincidentally, the parade was conducted in heavy rain for the first time since 1955, when the Grand Marshal had been Chief Justice Earl Warren.

In February, 2006, it was announced that the retired Justice will chair the Jamestown 2007 celebration at Jamestown, Virginia which commemorates the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown Settlement in 1607. Her appearances in Jamestown will dovetail with her appearances and speeches as chancellor at the nearby College of William and Mary.

On April 5, 2006, Arizona State University's College of Law was renamed the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law in her honor.

On May 14 2006, Justice O'Connor was the commencement speaker at William and Mary Law School, where she is also university chancellor.

On May 22 2006, Yale University granted Justice O'Connor an honorary doctoral degree at Yale's 305th commencement.

References

Steve Lash.
The Pointer View.
E.J. Montini. "Rehnquist is No. 1, O'Connor is No. 3, Baloney is No. 2.", Arizona Republic, (July 12, 2005).^*

External links

General biographical information John and Sandra O'Connor Marriage Profile
Official Supreme Court biographies of all current justices (PDF format)
The OYEZ Project's biography by a Northwestern University law professor

Additional information Read Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Justice O'Connor
"O'Connor not bothered by delayed retirement.", Associated Press September 28, 2005.
"Sandra Day O'Connor prepares for final days on Supreme Court.", Associated Press September 19, 2005.
Cases in which O'Connor has been the deciding vote (July 1, 2005)
Farewell comments from her fellow justices (July 1, 2005)
Centrist justice sought 'social stability'
Yahoo!: Sandra Day O'Connor directory category

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