On December 1, 2018, Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female Supreme Court justice, passed away. Her age was ninety-three.
O’Connor passed away at her Phoenix, Arizona, home from difficulties, according to a statement from the Supreme Court. She announced her dementia diagnosis in October 2018.
In 1981, Ronald Reagan nominated O’Connor to the Supreme Court. She had a significant impact on the court, rising to prominence as a moderate justice and being dubbed the “most powerful woman in America.”
Chief Justice John Roberts stated in a statement that Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female justice in American history, opened doors for women in the legal profession.
“She approached that task with unwavering resolve, indisputable talent, and an intriguing candor.” “The passing of a respected colleague who defended the rule of law and fervently advocated for civics education saddens us at the Supreme Court,” he added.

O’Connor was the final surviving Justice to have served on the Burger Court, which was presided over by Warren Burger from 1969 until his death in 1986.
On March 26, 1930, O’Connor was born in El Paso, Texas. Harry Day and Ada Mae Day were her parents. She had a cowgirl upbringing.
O’Connor gained a lot of knowledge about ranch life by working to maintain and being a part of her upbringing on a cattle ranch without running water until she was seven years old.
She rode horses, milked cows, and shot coyotes on a daily basis. She would frequently reflect on how her work ethic had grown as a result of her time spent on the ranch.
She previously said that her “first introduction to joining an all-men’s club” came from participating on cattle drives with a squad composed primarily of guys. Over the course of her career, she would get to know this rather well.
At the age of sixteen, O’Connor attended Stanford University in 1946. She had placed sixth in her class at high school.
After earning honors in her high school graduation in 1950, she enrolled at Stanford Law School, where she was admitted into a program that allowed her to begin in her senior year. She achieved it, one of just four women.
O’Connor met her future husband, John Jay O’Connor III, during her last year of law school. 1952 saw them tie the knot, only six months after O’Connor’s graduation. They were wed for 52 years till he passed away in 2009.
Their three children were born in the years 1957–1962. Brian, Jay, and Scott were their names.
O’Connor accomplished well in school, but because the field was dominated by men, it was difficult for her to get employment after graduation.
She was employed by the San Mateo County administration for a while. She and her spouse relocated to Germany in 1954, where he was employed as an Army lawyer. After three years, they relocated back to the United States, where O’Connor became active in local politics.
By 1969, O’Connor had volunteered with the Maricopa County Young Republicans, served as an assistant state attorney general for four years, and assisted former Arizona senator Barry Goldwater with his presidential campaign. The governor selected O’Connor to take the vacated seat in the Arizona State Senate.
She was the first female party leader in the Arizona State Senate when she successfully sought for reelection in 1972. She was assigned to the Maricopa County Superior Court after two years, then the Arizona State Court of Appeals after four.
Reagan needed to honor his pledge and appoint the first female justice to the Supreme Court. O’Connor distinguished herself as a well-rounded, centrist Republican who shared his opinions on abortion.
On September 9, 1981, her confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court got underway. It was the first hearing that was televised. Three days later, her nomination was unanimously approved by the Senate.
Throughout her 24 years on the Supreme Court, O’Connor wrote 645 decisions. They discussed everything from abortion rights to religious freedom and voting rights.
O’Connor often agreed with the conservative side when she initially joined the court. But because she occasionally agreed with the liberal viewpoint, she is now viewed by many as a moderate.
In the Grutter v. Bollinger affirmative action case, she authored the majority opinion. She discussed the advantages and noteworthy topics of having a varied student body in it. Nevertheless, she supported the conservative majority’s decision to reject a comparable course of action in Gratz v. Bollinger.

Notably, O’Connor supported Roe v. Wade and state limitations on abortion by joining the majority opinion in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. This was in spite of her having informed Reagan, eleven years prior, that she found abortion to be “personally abhorrent.”
O’Connor frequently agreed with William Rehnquist, the Chief Justice at the time, and backed state sovereignty.
She announced her resignation from the Supreme Court in 2005 on the news that her spouse had Alzheimer’s disease.
Almost a year and a half after she was replaced, Justice Samuel Alito received the Presidential Medal of Freedom upon her retirement.
I didn’t step down because I felt like I couldn’t sit much longer, she later said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
Following her retirement, O’Connor maintained her hectic schedule as chancellor of The College of William & Mary, worked on issues in the federal appeals court, and advocated for more civics education.
She claimed to have received a dementia diagnosis in 2018 and returned to a peaceful life.
Her six grandkids as well as her three sons, Scott, Brian, and Jay, will miss Mom.