Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor | |||||||||
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 Official portrait, c. 2002 | |||||||||
| Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | |||||||||
| In office September 25, 1981 – January 31, 2006[1][2] | |||||||||
| Nominated by | Ronald Reagan | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Potter Stewart | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Samuel Alito | ||||||||
| Judge of the Arizona Court of Appeals for Division One | |||||||||
| In office December 14, 1979 – September 25, 1981 | |||||||||
| Nominated by | Bruce Babbitt | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Mary Schroeder | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Sarah D. Grant[3] | ||||||||
| Judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court for Division 31 | |||||||||
| In office January 9, 1975 – December 14, 1979 | |||||||||
| Preceded by | David Perry | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Cecil Patterson[4] | ||||||||
| Member of the Arizona Senate from the district | |||||||||
| In office October 30, 1969 – January 13, 1975 | |||||||||
| Preceded by | Isabel Burgess | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | John Pritzlaff | ||||||||
| Constituency | 8-E district (1969–1971) 20th district (1971–1973) 24th district (1973–1975) | ||||||||
| 23rd Chancellor of the College of William and Mary | |||||||||
| In office October 1, 2005 – February 3, 2012 | |||||||||
| President | Gene Nichol Taylor Reveley | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Henry Kissinger | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Robert Gates | ||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||
| Born | Sandra Day March 26, 1930 El Paso, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | December 1, 2023 (aged 93) Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. | ||||||||
| Political party | Republican | ||||||||
| Spouse(s) | |||||||||
| Children | 3 | ||||||||
| Education | Stanford University (BA, LLB) | ||||||||
| Known for | First female U.S. Supreme Court justice | ||||||||
| Awards | Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009) | ||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||
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Sandra Day O'Connor (March 26, 1930 – December 1, 2023)[5][6] was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. O'Connor was the first woman nominated and served as a U.S. supreme court justice.[7][8] Before becoming an U.S. associate justice, O'Connor's was an Arizona state judge and earlier an elected legislator in Arizona, serving as the first female majority leader in the Arizona Senate.
Biography
O'Connor was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan. Reagan said while running for president that he wanted a woman to be on the Supreme Court and promised to nominate a woman for the job the first chance he got. One of her biggest supporters was Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, who helped make sure that all 100 Senators voted to confirm her.
While on the Supreme Court, she was involved in several major Supreme Court decisions including: Bush v. Gore, which had to do with a disputed election; Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which involved a woman's right to privacy.
She was also involved in Lawrence v. Texas, a case about whether burning a US flag was free speech. She retired from the court in 2006. Samuel Alito was chosen to replace her. On August 12, 2009, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This is the highest civilian honor of the United States. It was given by President Barack Obama.
In October 2018, O’Connor announced her retirement from public life after revealing that she was diagnosed with the early stages of dementia.[9] On December 1, 2023, O'Connor died in Phoenix, Arizona from problems caused by dementia and respiratory failure, aged 93.[10][11]
Things named after her
She has a high school named after her in North Phoenix, Arizona.[12]
Sandra Day O'Connor Media
Portrait of Sandra Day O'Connor in an advertisement for her election to the Superior Court.
President Ronald Reagan and Sandra Day O'Connor
O'Connor is sworn in by Chief Justice Warren Burger as her husband John O'Connor looks on.
Justice O'Connor presents Alberto Gonzales to the audience after swearing him in as U.S. Attorney General, as Becky Gonzales looks on.
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
O'Connor in 2008 with Harvard Law School dean Elena Kagan. Kagan later became the fourth female justice on the Court.
Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor speaking with attendees at the 2016 Dinner with Jefferson at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix, Arizona. Please attribute to Gage Skidmore if used elsewhere.
The first four women Supreme Court justices: O'Connor, Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Elena Kagan, 2010
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References
- ↑ Current Members. supremecourt.gov. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
- ↑ "The date a Member of the Court took his/her Judicial oath (the Judiciary Act provided 'That the Justices of the Supreme Court, and the district judges, before they proceed to execute the duties of their respective offices, shall take the following oath ...') is here used as the date of the beginning of his/her service, for until that oath is taken he/she is not vested with the prerogatives of the office." Source: About the Court > Justices > Justices 1789 to Present;Archived April 15, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Retired Judges. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
- ↑ Judges of the Superior Court Of Arizona in Maricopa County. ww.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov (November 2005). Retrieved May 26, 2017.
- ↑ Biography: Sandra Day O’Connor (in en). National Women's History Museum. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
- ↑ Sandra Day O’Connor | Constitution Center (in en). National Constitution Center – constitutioncenter.org. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
- ↑ Sandra Day O’Connor | Biography (in en-US). Biography (2023-12-01). Retrieved 2026-02-16.
- ↑ Sandra Day O'Connor Biography (in en-US). Sandra Day O'Connor Institute. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
- ↑ Justice O'Connor announces she has been diagnosed with dementia, 'probably Alzheimer's' Archived 2018-10-23 at the Wayback Machine at CNN
- ↑ Greenhouse, Linda (2023-12-01). "Sandra Day O’Connor, First Woman on the Supreme Court, Is Dead at 93" (in en-US). The New York Times. . https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/01/us/sandra-day-oconnor-dead.html. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
- ↑ Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female Supreme Court justice, dead at 93 (in en). NBC News (2023-12-01). Retrieved 2026-02-16.
- ↑ Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law | ASU. law.asu.edu. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
Sources
- Greenburg, Jan Crawford (2007). Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the United States Supreme Court. Penguin Books.
- Montini, E.J. (2005) "Rehnquist is No. 1, O'Connor is No. 3, Baloney is No. 2."[dead link], The Arizona Republic. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
- O'Connor, Sandra Day; and Day, H. Alan. Lazy B: Growing Up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest (2002)Random House. ISBN 0-375-50724-8.
Other websites
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Wikisource has original works written by or about: |
- Supreme Court official site with biographies
- Profile at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center
- Legal resources at the Law Library of Congress
- Biography and writings at the Legal Information Institute
- Profile at the Oyez Project
- Profile at Judgepedia
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Profile at the Internet Movie Database
- Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
- Works by or about Sandra Day O'Connor in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
- Profile at Notable Names Database
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Potter Stewart |
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States 1981–2006 |
Succeeded by Samuel Alito |
| Order of Precedence of the United States of America | ||
| Preceded by John Paul Stevens as Senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court |
Order of Precedence of the United States as Senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court |
Succeeded by David Souter as Senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court |
- Pages with TemplateStyles errors
- 1930 births
- 2023 deaths
- People with Alzheimer's disease
- Chancellors of the College of William & Mary
- United States Supreme Court justices
- American autobiographers
- Politicians from El Paso, Texas
- Writers from El Paso, Texas
- Republican Party (United States) politicians
- Lawyers from El Paso, Texas
- Lawyers from Phoenix, Arizona
- Politicians from Phoenix, Arizona
- Writers from Phoenix, Arizona
- Deaths from dementia
- Deaths from respiratory failure