![]() According for Ruth McGregor, who was a law clerk for O’Conner from 1981-82, the new justice was well aware that every word she would was going to be scrutinized and every action was being watched by the nation. True to her character, O’Connor did not celebrate or rejoice. “It’s a day that will live in infamy with many women,” said Sarah Suggs, president and chief executive officer of the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute, which is housed inside the Beus Center for Law and Society at ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus. Supreme Court justice in history when she was sworn in by Chief Justice Warren Burger. 25, 1981, O’Connor became the first female U.S. In 1974, she was elected to the Maricopa County Superior Court in five years later was appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals by Governor Bruce Babbitt, who was a Democrat. O’Connor was subsequently elected and reelected to the seat, becoming the first woman in the United States to hold the position of majority leader in a state senate. In 1965 she became an assistant attorney general for Arizona and four years later was appointed to the Arizona State Senate to occupy a vacant seat. Eventually O’Connor landed a job as the deputy county attorney. She began her legal career working for the San Mateo County Attorney for free, after turning down a paid position as a legal secretary. O’Connor completed law school in two years as opposed to the usual three, and graduated third in her class. Rehnquist, who later served with O’Connor on the bench. It was there where she met classmate and future husband, John Jay O’Connor and another famous classmate – future Supreme Court Justice William H. She excelled in her studies and graduated high school two years early.Ī legal dispute over her family’s ranch initially stirred her interest in law, and after receiving her economics degree, in 1950 she enrolled in Stanford Law School at age 20. O’Connor was eventually sent to live with her grandmother in El Paso, Texas to give her the best chance at a quality education. 22 rifle, learning the values instilled by a self-reliant way of life. On the ranch she rode horses with real cowboys, branded calves, drove a pickup truck and fired her own. She also displayed another side: rugged individuality. Raised on an 200,000-acre ranch near Duncan, Arizona called the Lazy B, O’Connor displayed an uncommonly high IQ at a young age. “She’s just a very genuine person and has a common touch when talking to people,” Blanchard said.īut that’s about the only thing common about O’Connor. He said the justice took on a motherly role with her clerks, prepared home cooked meals for them and made introductions to powerful people to ensure longevity in their careers. She encouraged argument and dialogue among her staff, and that actually made the clerkship fun.”īlanchard said he learned a lot about advocacy from O’Connor as well as humility. In fact, she encouraged us to express our own views in her chambers on cases. “She hired a wide variety of clerks with different points of view. ![]() roundtable discussion on O’Connor’s legacy. Blanchard, a Washington D.C.-based attorney who served as O’Connor’s law clerk from 1986-87 and one of three former clerks who will participate in a 6 p.m. “Justice O’Connor was not a justice who hired like-minded clerks,” said Charles A. Known mostly as a conservative justice and a proponent of judicial restraint, O’Connor also developed a reputation as an independent thinker and voter. O’Connor’s legal decisions were often the swing vote in divisive cases, and tackled issues such as gender discrimination, abortion rights, sexual harassment and freedom of religion. O’Connor is best known as the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States when appointed in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan, but her impact goes much deeper. It is an incredible honor to pay tribute to her legacy.” “She grew up in a much different world, but her brilliance, perseverance and principled leadership helped reshape it for the better. “There has been no greater champion for the things we most value as a society – justice, equality and the rule of law – than Sandra Day O’Connor,” said Douglas Sylvester, dean of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Doug Ducey, constitution law presentations, roundtable discussions and first-hand recollections of the state’s most famous member of the judiciary. The day-long celebration will include a proclamation from Arizona Gov. 25 at ASU Law on the Downtown Phoenix campus. “Sandra Day O’Connor Day” will kick off on Sept. The Sandra Day O'Connor Institute, Arizona State University and the State of Arizona are paying tribute to the life and civic contributions of Sandra Day O’Connor on the anniversary of her swearing in to the Supreme Court. Daylong tribute includes proclamations, presentations and roundtable discussions on civics and lawĪmerican Author and Journalist, ASU Now Reporter
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