That pigeon-holing generality was only partly correct. That happened when Chief Justice Rehnquist and Associate Justice Stevens (the only other senior justice) were absent.ĭue to her association with the Republican Party, observers tended to associate O`Connor with the conservative wing of the court, having values that were akin to then Associate Justice Rehnquist.

In February 2005, O`Connor became the first woman to preside over oral arguments before the Supreme Court ( Kelo v. In 1978, the state Republican party offered her a chance for a run at the governor`s spot, but she declined.Ībout two years later, Ronald Reagan came calling to fulfill a campaign promise to place a woman on the U.S. In 1974, she decided to change the focus of her career by successfully running for a judgeship on the Maricopa County Supreme Court. A first for women, O`Connor became the majority leader. Upon the resignation of a state senator, she was named to fill the vacant seat, holding it through two elections. She also became involved with the Republican Party.įollowing a five-year stint as a full-time mother, O`Connor found employment as an assistant state attorney general. O`Connor found time to volunteer at the Arizona State Hospital, the Salvation Army, and local schools. Her children needed more attention after her second son`s birth, so she temporarily withdrew from her firm.

O`Connor managed by handling a number of small, diverse cases. She decided to start her own law firm with a single partner. In the next six years, they had three sons. When John was discharged from the Army, the O`Connors decided to settle down in the Phoenix area in 1957. Sandra accompanied John to Germany when he was drafted into the Judge Advocate General Corps, and she signed on with the Quartermasters Corps as a civilian attorney. Her only offer from a California law firm was as a legal secretary. Six months after graduation, in December 1952, she married John O`Connor.ĭuring the early 1950s, it was difficult for women to find any meaninful, well-paid positions, and it was no different for O`Connor, even with her impeccable credentials. Her top class standing earned O`Connor an invitation to the 'Order of the Coif,' an elite group of attorneys that were in the top 10 percent of their classes. She completed her law degree in two years instead of the usual three, and served on the Stanford Law Review. In 1952, she finished third out of 102 students in the same class as William Rehnquist, later to be a chief justice, who was the undisputed number one. She was graduated from Stanford University with a degree in economics, then earned her L.L.B. Sandra Day, born in March 1930, grew up on an isolated southeastern Arizona cattle ranch, the 'Lazy B,' near the town of Duncan, pop.

Her personal life included such disparate thrills as being named an honorary member of the Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas stroking a hole-in-one on a golf course in her home state and making an impromptu appearance as Queen Isabel in a Shakespeare Theater`s production of Henry V. Aside from being the first woman and 102nd person chosen for the highest court in the land, Sandra Day O`Connor will be remembered for being the decisive vote in close decisions preserving the separation of church and state, upholding abortion rights, and allowing universities to adopt Affirmative Action policies that favor minority applicants. From Arizona cowgirl to a seat on the Supreme Court of the United States is a heady jump for a small-town girl.

Sandra day o connor family