Sandra Day O'Connor (March 26, 1930 – December 1, 2023) was a pioneering American attorney, politician, and jurist. She became the first woman to serve as an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, holding this position from 1981 to 2006. Appointed by President Ronald Reagan, she was known as a moderate conservative and often played a crucial swing vote role on the Court. Before her Supreme Court tenure, she served as the first female majority leader of a state senate in Arizona and held various judicial positions there. After retiring from the Court, she was active in civic education and judicial independence advocacy and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.
Key points about her life:
- Born in El Paso, Texas
- Graduated from Stanford University and Stanford Law School
- Worked as a county attorney, Arizona Assistant Attorney General, state senator, judge on both Maricopa County Superior Court and Arizona Court of Appeals
- Nominated to the Supreme Court in 1981 and retired in 2006
- Founded the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute for American Democracy
- Passed away on December 1, 2023
She is remembered as a trailblazer for women in law and an influential justice who shaped American jurisprudence for 25 years.
