Back ساندرا داي أوكونور Arabic ساندرا داى اوكونور ARZ سندرا دی اوکانر AZB Sandra Day O'Connor Catalan Sandra Day O'Connorová Czech Sandra Day O'Connor Welsh Sandra Day O'Connor Danish Sandra Day O’Connor German Sandra Day O'Connor Esperanto Sandra Day O'Connor Spanish
Sandra Day O'Connor | |
|---|---|
 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 | |
| In office January 8, 1973 – January 13, 1975 | |
| Preceded by | Howard S. Baldwin |
| Succeeded by | John Pritzlaff |
| Constituency | 24th district |
| In office January 11, 1971 – January 8, 1973 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Bess Stinson |
| Constituency | 20th district |
| In office October 30, 1969 – January 11, 1971 | |
| Preceded by | Isabel Burgess |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Constituency | 8-E district |
| 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 | |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Ann Day (sister) |
| Education | Stanford University (BA, LLB) |
| Awards | Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009) |
| Signature |  |
Sandra Day O'Connor (March 26, 1930 – December 1, 2023) 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. Nominated by President Ronald Reagan, O'Connor was the first woman to serve as a U.S. Supreme Court justice.[5][6] A moderate conservative, she was considered a swing vote. Before O'Connor's tenure on the Court, she was an Arizona state judge and earlier an elected legislator in Arizona, serving as the first female majority leader of a state senate as the Republican leader in the Arizona Senate.[7] Upon her nomination to the Court, O'Connor was confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate.
O'Connor usually sided with the Court's conservative bloc but on occasion sided with the Court's liberal members. She often wrote concurring opinions that sought to limit the reach of the majority holding. Her majority opinions in landmark cases include Grutter v. Bollinger and Hamdi v. Rumsfeld. In 2000, she wrote in part the per curiam majority opinion in Bush v. Gore and in 1992 was one of three co-authors of the lead opinion in Planned Parenthood v. Casey that preserved legal access to abortion in the United States. On July 1, 2005, O'Connor announced her retirement, effective upon the confirmation of a successor.[8] At the time of her death, O'Connor was the last living member of the Burger Court. Samuel Alito was nominated to take her seat in October 2005, and joined the Supreme Court on January 31, 2006.
During her term on the Court, O'Connor was regarded as among the most powerful women in the world.[9][10] After retiring, she succeeded Henry Kissinger as the chancellor of the College of William & Mary. In 2009, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.[11]
- ^ "Current Members". supremecourt.gov. Archived from the original on February 6, 2020. 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". Archived from the original on February 12, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
- ^ "Judges of the Superior Court Of Arizona in Maricopa County" (PDF). ww.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov. November 2005. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
- ^ Weisman, Steven R. (July 7, 1981). "Reagan Nominating Woman, an Arizona Appeals Judge, to Serve on Supreme Court". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 11, 2000. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
- ^ "Sandra Day O'Connor | Biography, Accomplishments, & Facts | Britannica". Encyclopædia Britannica. May 11, 2023. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
- ^ "O'Connor, Sandra Day". Federal Judicial Center. Archived from the original on March 6, 2004. Retrieved March 21, 2006.
- ^ Stevenson, R. W. (July 1, 2005). "O'Connor, First Woman Supreme Court Justice, Resigns After 24 Years". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 1, 2011. Retrieved September 10, 2005.
- ^ McCaslin, John (November 7, 2001). "Power Women". McCaslin's Beltway Beat. Washington, D.C.: Townhall.com. Archived from the original on April 29, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
... Ladies' Home Journal, ... ranks the 30 Most Powerful Women based on cultural clout, financial impact, achievement, visibility, influence, intellect, political know-how and staying power. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton ranks 5th on the list behind Miss Winfrey, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Martha Stewart and Barbara Walters
- ^ "The World's Most Powerful Women". Forbes. August 20, 2004. Archived from the original on March 15, 2009. Retrieved March 4, 2009.
- ^ "Presidential Medal of Freedom". CBS News. August 12, 2009. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2021.