Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connoris a retired associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving from her appointment in 1981 by Ronald Reagan until her retirement in 2006. She was the first woman to be appointed to the Court...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionSupreme Court Justice
Date of Birth26 March 1930
CityEl Paso, TX
CountryUnited States of America
Sandra Day O'Connor quotes about
teaching school years
I had become increasingly concerned in recent years about the lack of civics education in our nation's schools. In recent years, the schools have stopped teaching it. And it's unfortunate.
judging democracy intimidation
The freedom to criticize judges and other public officials is necessary to a vibrant democracy.
leadership horse experts
The really expert riders of horses let the horse know immediately who is in control, but then they guide the horse with loose reins and very seldom use the spurs. So it was with our chief [William Rehnquist]. He guided us with loose reins and used the spurs only rarely to get us up to speed with our work.
media attention firsts
What was a problem was the excessive amount of media attention to the appointment of the first woman and everything she did. Everywhere that Sandra went, the press was sure to go. And that got tiresome; it was stressful.
media focus too-much
It was better for me when I was joined at the court by a second woman. When I was there alone, there was too much media focus on the one woman, and the minute we got another woman, that changed.
progress care arizona
I care very much about women and their progress. I didn't go march in the streets, but when I was in the Arizona Legislature, one of the things that I did was to examine every single statute in the state of Arizona to pick out the ones that discriminated against women and get them changed.
husband alzheimers heartbreaking
I loved my husband very much, and it was heartbreaking to have him develop Alzheimer's disease, and to stand by and watch him decline in his ability to take care of himself.
independent paper constitution
The framers of the Constitution were so clear in the federalist papers and elsewhere that they felt an independent judiciary was critical to the success of the nation.
imbalance rooms gains
Despite the encouraging and wonderful gains and the changes for women which have occurred in my lifetime, there is still room to advance and to promote correction of the remaining deficiencies and imbalances.
court hostility
There was no hostility at the court when I arrived.
responsibility opportunity equality
Society as a whole benefits immeasurably from a climate in which all persons, regardless of race or gender, may have the opportunity to earn respect, responsibility, advancement and remuneration based on ability.
religious silence moments
A moment of silence is not inherently religious.
history amendments framers
Statutes authorizing unreasonable searches were the core concern of the framers of the 4th Amendment.
lawyer professors young
And I went off to Stanford, I was pretty young and pretty naive. And I had a professor I really loved, who was himself a lawyer.