Reproductive Health Services which restricted access to abortions in certain cases. She received the most attention, however, for a case in 1989, Webster vs. In this case about sex discrimination she wrote the opinion that a male student could not be rejected from a nursing school because of his gender. Justice O'Connor's first major case came in 1982. She was confirmed by a Judiciary Committee vote of 17 to 1 and won approval by the U.S. Wade was put before her, nor would she speculate on any other issues. During her appointment hearings, O'Connor would not reveal how she would vote if a repeal of Roe Vs. Conservatives were not particularly happy with his choice, since she had taken a rather moderate position on abortion in the past. Sandra was a relative unknown, having spent most of her life in the West and having never served in the federal judicial system. He was determined to follow through on his commitment to include women in high places of authority and importance. On JPresident Reagan announced that Sandra Day O'Connor was his appointee to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court left by Associate Justice Potter Stewart's retirement. In 1974 Sandra Day O'Connor was elected to a position of trial judge for Maricopa County and 5 years later was appointed by then Governor Bruce Babbitt to the Court of Appeals. In 1973 Sandra Day O'Connor was the first woman to serve as the majority leader of a state Senate. In 1969 she was appointed to the state Senate and was subsequently re-elected to that position. In 1965, Sandra Day O'Connor went to work on a part-time basis for the Arizona attorney general's office. Their first child, Scott, was born in 1957. Her husband practiced law for a few years before they decided to build a home in north Phoenix. Despite her excellent scholastic record, it was difficult for women to find positions as lawyers. In 1952 she graduated from law school, again with honors, and soon thereafter was married to John O'Connor. It was during her work as editor on the Stanford Law Review that she met John Jay O'Connor III, also attending law school at Stanford. Sandra Day majored in economics at Stanford University and graduated with high honors. Her grandmother, Mamie Scott Wilkey, is said to have had the greatest influence upon Sandra. Her parents decided to send her back to El Paso to live with her grandmother when she became of school age. Born in El Paso, Texas in 1930, she spent her early childhood on the sprawling family ranch in Southeastern Arizona. Sandra Day O'Connor was the first woman and the 102nd person to sit on the Supreme Court of the United States. Sandra Day O'Connor may not be flamboyant or attention seeking, but she is very powerful and well-respected. While not everyone agreed with her opinions and assessments, no one questions her diligence and integrity. It shouldn't surprise anyone that was involved in some controversial decisions while serving in that position. The people of Phoenix, Arizona were indeed proud of one of their own when Sandra Day O'Connor was named to the U.S. It was the start of a long career that culminated in her appointment to the Supreme Court in 1981, and she gained a reputation for being a tough judge.Sandra Day O'Connor Supreme Court Justice She would later become the first woman in the nation to become a Senate majority leader in a legislature.Ĭhapter 4: Rise from a GOP activist to an Arizona lawmaker A tough and demanding judge - but fairĪfter her time in the Legislature, O'Connor ran for Maricopa County Superior Court judge and won. When she returned, she quickly rose to prominence with an appointment to the Arizona Senate. O'Connor returned to work as an assistant state attorney general for Arizona in 1965, after taking a break from her career to raise her family. She had an especially difficult time finding a job after graduating because so many law firms wouldn't interview or hire her because she was a woman.Ĭhapter 3: Breaking barriers as a young lawyer Rise from Republican activist to Arizona lawmaker O'Connor applied to Stanford at 16, and only continued to break barriers from there - in her studies, her life and her early legal career. Sandra Day O'Connor graduated high school at 16 and attended Stanford.
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