FAMOUS AMERICAN JUSTICES
JUSTICE
Sandra Day O’Connor
By Henry Inman - Virginia Memory, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index. php?curid=9538002
By Harry Munsinger All photos: Public Domain
S
andra Day O’Connor was born Sandra Day on March 26, 1930, in El Paso, Texas.1 Sandra spent her early childhood on her parents’ Arizona ranch, where she loved to ride horses. The ranch, however, was far away from formal schools, so her parents sent Sandra to El Paso to live with her grandmother so that she could attend school.2 At the time, no one would have guessed that she would become the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Sandra’s grandmother taught her that it was important to work hard and strive for success, and that she could succeed regardless of gender. Sandra enrolled in the Radford School for Girls, skipped two grades, graduated from high school at age 15, and enrolled at Stanford University at age 16.3 After graduating with a degree in economics, she applied to Stanford Law School; she was accepted as one of four women in a class of 150 students. During law school, she met her future husband, John O’Connor, when the two were paired to cite check a law review article. After law school, Sandra married John and applied to law firms in Los Angeles and San Francisco but received no response. A partner at Gibson, Dunn, and Crutcher—a top Los Angeles law firm—told her that even though she had a good resume, the firm would never hire a woman because clients would not stand for it. The partner offered Sandra a job as a legal secretary, but Sandra declined. Instead, she took an unpaid position with the San Mateo County District Attorney’s office to obtain experience.4 16 San Antonio Lawyer® | sabar.org
She left her position when John was drafted into the Army, and the couple moved to Frankfurt, Germany. There, she worked for the Army as a civilian attorney.5 Three years later, the couple returned to the United States. John joined a law firm in Phoenix, and the couple began a family. Sandra did not work when her children were young but volunteered for various political organizations. She returned to work in 1965 as an assistant attorney general for Arizona.6 In 1969, she was appointed to the Arizona Senate.7 Three years later, she became the first female leader of a state Senate in the United States.
Judge O’Connor In 1974, Sandra became an elected judge in Phoenix, and in 1979, Arizona Governor Babbitt appointed her to the Arizona Court of Appeals, to keep her from running against him. That summer, she met Chief Justice Warren Burger, and they discussed law and politics late into the evening. Burger decided Judge O’Connor was a good choice to serve as the first woman justice for the Supreme Court of the United States. To further that effort, Burger appointed O’Connor to important judicial committees so that she could become better known within the legal community. In 1981, President Reagan nominated her to the Supreme Court8 to replace retiring Justice Potter Stewart. Senators Barry Goldwater and Strom Thurmond escorted O’Connor through the hearings. The Senate confirmed her nomination to the Supreme Court unanimously.
Justice O’Connor On September 25, 1981, Chief Justice Burger walked Justice O’Connor down the Supreme Court steps as photographers snapped pictures of the historic event. Accompanied by President Reagan, Justice O’Connor met the other Justices in their private chambers. When she was escorted to the Court’s grand chamber, Justice O’Connor sat in the chair originally used by Chief Justice John Marshall. She took the oath of office, donned her black robe, and took her seat on the far right of the other eight Justices. In her first meeting with other Justices to review cases, she took notes about the cases selected for review. Shortly after she joined the Court, Chief Justice Burger sent her a memo about the dynamics of a lone female among a group of males in a work environment. The memo recommended a passive role to accommodate the male Justices and make the group more productive. She ignored the recommendation and became an active member of the Court. Justice Lewis Powell helped O’Connor organize her office by assigning her one of his best legal secretaries. She was grateful for his help, and they became good friends. Powell, a Virginia gentleman who appreciated good breeding, was impressed by O’Connor’s intellect and upper-class manners. Justice O’Connor retained Justice Stewart’s law clerks because it was too late in the term to select her own. She listened to her law clerks’ advice because they were fresh from top-tier law schools and had learned from the country’s
