On the morning of December 1st, 2023, the US Supreme Court announced that former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor had passed away at age 93 due to complications with dementia. Her health conditions were made public in an open letter in October 2018, where she announced she had been diagnosed with early stages of the chronic condition and would be withdrawing herself from public life.
The first woman to be on the Supreme Court, O’Connor was appointed by Ronald Reagan, the 40th US president, in 1981 and served until 2006. Before that, the court had only seen men on the bench for nearly two centuries. “Justice — at last” was the cover text of Time magazine when she was nominated. Since that day of breaking the gender barrier, she was dubbed the most powerful woman in America, as she held the deciding vote on serious cases regarding abortion and the decision that handed the presidency to George W. Bush. Chief Justice John Roberts once referred to her accomplishments, reflecting: “She met that challenge with undaunted determination, indisputable ability and engaging candor.”
Sandra Day O’Connor pursued her studies at Stanford Law School and hoped to begin her career in law. In the 1950s, however, after more than 40 firms had turned her down, her interests gradually began to shift to politics, serving in the state Senate and becoming a judge for Arizona’s State Court of Appeals. While Reagan nominated O’Connor in part to fulfil his campaign promise of appointing the first woman to the highest US court, he also believed she demonstrated a distinguished career. O’Connor impressed the Judiciary Committee with her knowledge and intelligence, with her nomination also supported by Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona and Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist. After the hearings were completed, the full Senate voted to confirm O’Connor on September 21, 1981, by a vote of 99-0. With that, she officially became the first woman in American history to have a seat on the Supreme Court.
O’Connor played a crucial part in US policy reform during her 25 years in court, this period often being referred to as the O’Connor Court. Playing the moderator role, she had to provide the deciding vote on numerous court cases. In 1992, she was the critical 5th vote against overturning the landmark Roe V. Wade decision that legalized abortion. O’Connor joined with four other justices to uphold the controversial 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that made abortion legal nationwide.
O’Connor has paved the way for many women in law, especially the four-woman justices who now sit on the Supreme Court. Since its establishment in 1789, the court has only seen six female Court Justices. When questioned when there will be enough women on the Supreme Court, Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsburg answers “When there are nine”. When O’Connor was appointed, only thirty-six percent of law students in the US were female; however, the current ratio of female law students has risen to fifty-five percent.
“I think the important thing about my appointment is not that I will decide cases as a woman, but that I am a woman who will get to decide cases” — a quote from O’Connor in memory of her contributions to female representation in the courtroom.
