Sandra Day O’Connor, a groundbreaking justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, died Friday in Phoenix, Arizona of complications related to advanced dementia, probably Alzheimer’s, and a respiratory illness, according to an announcement from the court.
President Ronald Reagan nominated O’Connor in 1981, and she was confirmed by the full Senate, 99-0, in September of that year.
The moderate O’Connor, who served on the bench until her retirement in 2006, was often the decisive vote in major cases that reached the Supreme Court in her nearly quarter-century as associate justice.
The justices issued rulings in high-profile cases during O’Connor’s tenure, including Bush v. Gore, which settled the 2000 presidential contest in George W. Bush’s favor, and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, a 5-4 decision that affirmed the constitutional right to an abortion but with leeway for states to impose some restrictions. O’Connor sided with the majority in both cases.
“Justice O’Connor was El Paso’s daughter — attending Radford School for Girls and Austin High School — and a trailblazer in this country,” City of El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser said Friday. “We will always remember her, and now we will cherish her incredible legacy. May she rest in peace.”
During her time at Austin High School, O’Connor was known for her fiery spirit and natural leadership — earning knowledge that served her well as the first female Supreme Court justice.
“Oh, we always expected great things of her, She was an outstanding student,” high school friend and former classmate Gayle Welsch told the El Paso Times in 1996. “And now she’s still so down to earth and easy to talk to. We’re all so proud of her.”
O’Connor grew up on the Lazy B Ranch in southeast Arizona, a 200,000-acre ranch founded by her grandfather 30 years before Arizona statehood. It was there that she learned to drive a truck, mend a fence and fire a .22 rifle.
O’Connor’s appointment as the first woman justice not only made history, but it also prodded other states to start putting women on their supreme courts. But she recoiled at the thought that a woman would decide cases differently. She was fond of quoting a letter from a supporter who wrote, “Dear Justice O’Connor: Don’t be intimidated by all those men and especially the chief justice. You put on your robes the same way.”
Read more
2023 Pac-12 Championship Game: Oregon vs. Washington 2023 NBA: Lakers win over Pistons (133-107)
Sarah H
Also on site :
- Meta Initially Pursued Ilya Sutskever's $32B AI Startup, Now Seeks to Hire Its CEO
- Supreme Court concludes term with rulings on birthright citizenship and the ACA
- From Buyout to Recruitment: Meta Tried Buying Sutskever’s $32B AI Startup, Now Hiring Its CEO