The O’Connor Choice

President Reagan made it plain that he would seek a conservative jurist to fill any vacan cy on the Supreme Court. He has now selected a respected judge; the fact that she is a woman is secondary . In Judge Sandra O’Connor he seems to have found a candidate who reflects his philosoph y that the cour t should interpret law rather than sh a pe it. Academically, Judge O’Connor is superbly quali- .fied. After earning a degree in economics, sh e was graduated from Sta nford University law school with highest honors and was a n edito r of the Stanford Law Review . She stood thi r d in a class that held Justice William Rehnquist and her husband, John Jay O’Con – nor III. She fulfilled he r early pr omise in a rapidly rising career by becoming depu ty coun ty a tto rney for San Mateo Count y, Ca lif ., as sistant attorney general of Arizona, an Arizona state senator , senate majority leader and superior court judge. E ighteen months ago she was appointed to t he Ari zona Court of Appeals by a Democratic governor . Arizona justices pronounce her leg a lly sound . Sen . Barr y Goldwater is one of her steadfast supporters . O’Connor’s written decisions suggest th a t she is no ideologue, but rather judges ea ch cas e on its mer its , Her childhood on a cattl e ranch northw est of El Paso , a cousi n a nd fr iend in Houst on says , m a de her self -sufficie nt , a voracio us r ea der, a nd “peopl e-orien ted rather than male- or fema le-or ien te d.” Judge O’Conno r would bring L1. remar