Sandra Day O’Connor

(March 26, 1930-)

Born in El Paso, Texas, Sandra graduated from Stanford University in 1952 in Law and Economics. Positions for women attorneys were very few in the 50’s and she turned to public service, being appointed Assistant Attorney General of Arizona from 1965–1969 and then elected to the Arizona State Senate. In 1973 she was the first woman to serve as a senate majority leader and in 1979 was appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals. President Reagan nominated her Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 1981, confirmed unanimously by the Senate. In her first year on the Court O'Connor received over sixty thousand supportive letters from the public, more than any other justice in history. Her case-by-case approach to jurisprudence and her relatively moderate political views, made her the crucial swing vote of the Court for many of her final years on the bench.

HOME                                                       NEXT                                          PORTRAIT LIST