Sandra Day O’Connor was the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. A Republican, she was considered a moderate conservative and served for 24 years.
Sandra Day O’Connor was elected to two terms in the Arizona state senate. In 1981, Ronald Reagan nominated her to the U.S. Supreme Court. She received unanimous Senate approval and made history as the first woman justice to serve on the nation’s highest court. O’Connor was a key swing vote in many important cases, including the upholding of Roe v. Wade. She retired in 2006 after serving for 24 years.
Born on March 26, 1930, in El Paso, Texas, O’Connor spent part of her youth on her family’s Arizona ranch. O’Connor was adept at riding and assisted with ranch duties. She later wrote about her rough and tumble childhood in her memoir, Lazy B: Growing Up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest, published in 2002.
After graduating from Stanford University in 1950 with a bachelor’s degree in economics, O’Connor attended the university’s law school and received her degree in 1952, graduating third in her class. With opportunities for female lawyers very limited at the time, O’Connor struggled to find a job and worked without pay for the county attorney of California’s San Mateo region just to get her foot in the door. She soon became deputy county attorney.
From 1954-57, O’Connor moved overseas and served as a civilian lawyer for the Quartermaster Masker Center in Frankfurt, Germany. She returned home in 1958 and settled in Arizona. There she worked at a private practice before returning to public service, acting as the state’s assistant attorney general from 1965-69.Political Party
In 1969, O’Connor received a state senate appointment by Governor Jack Williams to fill a vacancy. A conservative Republican, O’Connor won reelection twice. In 1974 she took on a different challenge and ran for the position of judge in the Maricopa County Superior Court, winning the race.
As a judge, O’Connor developed a solid reputation for being firm but just. Outside of the courtroom, she remained involved in Republican politics. In 1979, O’Connor was selected to serve on the state’s court of appeals. Only two years later, President Ronald Reagan nominated her for associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. O’Connor received unanimous approval from the U.S. Senate and broke new ground for women when she was sworn in as the first female justice on the Supreme Court.
Women. Gotta love us.
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