Sandra Day O'Connor

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Biden, Roberts Pay Tribute to Sandra Day O'Connor

Chief justice calls her an 'iconic jurist'

(Newser) - Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the Arizona rancher's daughter who became a voice of moderate conservatism as the first woman on the US Supreme Court, was memorialized by President Biden on Tuesday as a pioneer in the legal world who inspired generations of women. Biden and Chief Justice John...

Sandra Day O'Connor Honored as Role Model
Sandra Day O'Connor
Honored as Role Model
photos

Sandra Day O'Connor Honored as Role Model

First woman on Supreme Court understood Americans, Sotomayor says

(Newser) - Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman to serve on the US Supreme Court, was remembered Monday as a trailblazer who never lost sight of how the high court's decisions affected all Americans. O'Connor, an Arizona native who was an unwavering voice of moderate conservatism for more...

O'Connor Often Decided Cases, but Don't Call Her a Swing Vote

Supreme Court justice developed her political skills in Arizona

(Newser) - Justice Sandra Day O'Connor often occupied the middle on the Supreme Court, which frequently made hers the decisive vote. Others called her the court's swing vote, but she didn't. "I don't like that term," O'Connor, who died Friday , told NPR in 2013, saying...

Supreme Court's First Female Justice Dead at 93

The groundbreaking Sandra Day O'Connor died of complications from dementia, per the high court

(Newser) - Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman on the nation's highest bench, died Friday at the age of 93, reports the AP . O'Connor passed away due to "complications related to advanced dementia" and a respiratory illness, the court said Friday, per CNN and...

Before They Served on Supreme Court Together, She Rejected His Hand

Author uncovers William Rehnquist's marriage proposal to Sandra Day O'Connor

(Newser) - Before she was the first woman on the Supreme Court, she turned down a marriage proposal from a future chief justice. As Sandra Day O'Connor withdraws from public life amid early dementia , NPR plucks from her past the untold story of a near engagement to William Rehnquist. The pair...

First Woman on Supreme Court: I Have Early- Stage Dementia

Sandra Day O'Connor is retreating from public life

(Newser) - Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court, says she has the beginning stages of dementia and "probably Alzheimer's," per the AP . O'Connor made the announcement in a letter Tuesday. She said that her diagnosis was made "some time ago" and that...

Supreme Court Ends O'Connor Workout Class After 35 Years

It's got to move off the premises

(Newser) - Years after she left the Supreme Court, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor remained enthusiastic about the early morning exercise class she started at the highest court in the land—in the basketball court that sits one floor above the courtroom where she heard arguments for nearly a quarter-century. While the...

Perfect Scalia Solution: Put O’Connor Back on Court

Two political science professors make the case

(Newser) - There may be a lively debate about whether President Obama should be able to fill Antonin Scalia's seat on the Supreme Court, but one person with a unique perspective thinks it's a no-brainer: "I think we need somebody there now to do the job, and let's...

Husband of Retired Justice O'Connor Dies
Husband of Retired Justice O'Connor Dies
OBITUARY

Husband of Retired Justice O'Connor Dies

John O'Connor, 79, suffered Alzheimer's complications

(Newser) - John J. O'Connor III, the husband of retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, died today at age 79 due to complications arising from Alzheimer's disease. John O'Connor, himself a lawyer, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's nearly two decades ago. His condition deteriorated markedly in mid-decade and when she announced her...

Roberts Court Disappoints O'Connor
Roberts Court Disappoints O'Connor

Roberts Court Disappoints O'Connor

Moderate justice sees legacy 'dismantled' by conservative turn

(Newser) - Sandra Day O’Connor is none too pleased with the conservative turn the Supreme Court has taken since she retired. Asked at a conference how she felt about the court overturning or undermining rulings she’d helped make on issues like abortion rights, campaign finance and race, she replied, “...

Justices Prepare for Newest 'Family Member'

In rare interviews, they discuss dynamics of Supreme Court shifts

(Newser) - When Sonia Sotomayor takes the bench for the first time next week, the Supreme Court will never be the same—as justice after justice tells C-Span in a rare interview program, each new member transforms the court's composition. John Roberts says that he looks at the bench "like people...

Quietly, O'Connor Fills In on Appellate Courts

(Newser) - Three years after retiring from the Supreme Court, Sandra Day O'Connor is still on the bench—in federal appellate courts across the country, where the high court's first woman justice has quietly been filling in as a substitute judge. O'Connor has heard nearly 80 cases and written more than a...

Medals of Freedom Will Go to Milk, Kennedy, Poitier

(Newser) - This year's Medal of Freedom recipients share a capacity to change the world, President Obama said today in naming the eclectic group. Among the 16 honorees are Sen. Ted Kennedy, slain gay-rights activist Harvey Milk, actor Sidney Poitier, tennis great Billie Jean King, and retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day...

Common Tie for Women of Supreme Court? Nancy Drew

(Newser) - The women of the Supreme Court—Sandra Day O'Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and now likely Sonia Sotomayor—may come from wildly different backgrounds, but they all shared a common childhood pastime: curling up with a Nancy Drew novel. What was it about that wholesome teenage detective? wonders Mary Jo...

O'Connor: I'm Not a 'Feminist'
 O'Connor: I'm Not a 'Feminist' 

O'Connor: I'm Not a 'Feminist'

Former justice wants kids to learn about courts

(Newser) - Sandra Day O’Connor says the reason she hoped a woman would be named to replace her on the Supreme Court is that it's easier not to be the only woman on the nation's highest bench. As the first female justice, she tells Deborah Solomon in the New York Times...

Can Video Games Save the World?

Creators take aim at education in the gaming industry

(Newser) - A small group of educators and activists is championing the use of video games for more than just entertainment, the Washington Post reports. “I don't think games have to be fun,” one key organizer said. “I think games have to be engaging.” New titles in the...

O'Connor's Imprint Fades
 O'Connor's Imprint Fades 
analysis

O'Connor's Imprint Fades

First female Supreme Court justice's legacy uncertain

(Newser) - Even as Sandra Day O’Connor public profile as an advocate for Alzheimer’s disease research grows, the legal imprint of the first woman Supreme Court justice is fading, USA Today reports. Since her departure, the Roberts court has shifted course on abortion and retreated from positions supported by her...

Retired Justice Turns Video Game Designer

Day O'Connor's Our Courts aims to boost civics knowledge

(Newser) - Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor isn't taking it easy now that she's no longer writing decisions, Wired reports. The first woman to be appointed to the top court is leading a project to help young people learn more about their government through a video game. Our Courts, an...

Supreme Court Gets First-Ever Wall Calendar

Birthdays, key decisions won't go begging for legal eagles in '08

(Newser) - The Supreme Court may not come knocking at your door over the holidays, but the stars of the judicial branch have their very own calendar for sale, the Washingtonian reports. Legal Times court reporter Tony Mauro is to thank for the effort, which will help ensure that law junkies and...

O'Connor Embraces Husband's New Flame

Retired justice supports Alzheimer's romance

(Newser) - Sandra Day O'Connor, who retired from the Supreme Court last year to care for her ailing husband, is now supporting his romance with another woman at the Alzheimer's center where they both live. In a poignant development experts say is common, John O'Connor no longer remembers his wife of 52...

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