Current:Home > InvestHistorian Evan Thomas on Justice Sandra Day O'Connor-InfoLens
Historian Evan Thomas on Justice Sandra Day O'Connor
View Date:2024-12-23 16:17:13
The trailblazing retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor died on Friday. Our appreciation is from O'Connor biographer Evan Thomas, author of "First: Sandra Day O'Connor":
When Chief Justice Warren Burger escorted Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman justice in the court's 200-year history, down the steps of the Supreme Court, he said to the reporters, "You've never seen me with a better-looking justice yet, have you?"
Well, you know, Sandra O'Connor did not love that. But it was 1981, and she was used to this sort of thing. She just smiled.
She was tough, she was smart, and she was determined to show that women could do the job just as well as men.
One of the things that she was smart about was staying out of petty, ego-driven squabbles. At the court's private conference, when Justice Antonin Scalia started railing against affirmative action, she said, "Why Nino, how do you think I got my job?" But when one of her law clerks wrote a zinger into her opinion to hit back at Scalia in public, she just crossed it out.
In 24 years on the Supreme Court, Justice O'Connor was the decisive swing vote in 330 cases. That is a lot of power, and she was not afraid to wield it, upholding abortion rights and affirmative action and the election of President George W. Bush (although she later regretted the court had involved itself in that case).
She also knew how to share power and credit. She was originally assigned to write the court's opinion in United States v. Virginia, which ruled that state schools could not exclude women. But instead, O'Connor turned to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who, at that time, had only been on the court for a couple of years, and said, "This should be Ruth's opinion." Justice Ginsburg told me, "I loved her for that."
Justice Clarence Thomas told me, "She was the glue. The reason this place was civil was Sandra Day O'Connor."
She left the court in 2006 at the height of her power. Her husband, John, had Alzheimer's, and she wanted to take care of him. "He sacrificed for me," she said. "Now I want to sacrifice for him."
How lucky we were to have Sandra Day O'Connor.
For more info:
- "First: Sandra Day O'Connor" by Evan Thomas (Random House), in Trade Paperback, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Story produced by Robert Marston. Editor: Lauren Barnello.
See also:
- From the archives: Portraits of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor ("Sunday Morning")
- In:
- Supreme Court of the United States
- Sandra Day O'Connor
veryGood! (236)
Related
- What does the top five look like and other questions facing the College Football Playoff committee
- Saturday Night Live’s Colin Jost will be featured entertainer at White House correspondents’ dinner
- Jury convicts northern Michigan man in murders of teen and woman
- Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is running for the US Senate
- Mark Zuckerberg Records NSFW Song Get Low for Priscilla Chan on Anniversary
- For San Francisco 49ers coach Johnny Holland, Super Bowl LVIII isn't his biggest challenge
- A 'Love Story' turned 'Red': Fireball releases lipstick inspired by Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce
- Microsoft's Super Bowl message: We're an AI company now
- McDonald's Version: New Bestie Bundle meals celebrate Swiftie friendship bracelets
- Queen Camilla Gives Update on King Charles III After His Cancer Diagnosis
Ranking
- Are banks, post offices, UPS and FedEx open on Veterans Day? Here's what to know
- Kylie Kelce Reveals Whether Her and Jason Kelce's Kids Will Be at Super Bowl 2024
- Alicia Silverstone Just Channeled Her Clueless Character With This Red-Hot Look
- Larry Hogan running for U.S. Senate seat in Maryland
- Mississippi Valley State football player Ryan Quinney dies in car accident
- 2 killed in Illinois after a car being chased by police struck another vehicle
- There might actually be fewer TV shows to watch: Why 'Peak TV' is over
- Virginia lawmakers limit public comment and tell folks taking the mic to ‘make it quick’
Recommendation
-
Elon Musk responds after Chloe Fineman alleges he made her 'burst into tears' on 'SNL'
-
Texas attorney sentenced to 6 months in alleged abortion attempt of wife's baby
-
Why a State-Led Coalition to Install More Heat Pumps Is a Big Deal for Climate Change
-
What's Making Us Happy: A guide to your weekend viewing and reading
-
She was found dead while hitchhiking in 1974. An arrest has finally been made.
-
Republican lawmakers are backing dozens of bills targeting diversity efforts on campus and elsewhere
-
FBI says Tennessee man wanted to 'stir up the hornet's nest' at US-Mexico border by using bombs, firearms
-
How One of the Nation’s Fastest Growing Counties Plans to Find Water in the Desert