Turley drafts O’Connor talk

PHOENIX – Sen. Stan Turley, R-Mesa, reached into his own ranch upbringing to draft the comments he’ll make in support of Sandra O’Connor’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Turley said he expects to testify today or Fri- ‘day before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Turley, who grew up on the Sundown _Ranch on the Mogollon Rim and later ran his o”0 ranch for 18 years in the Queen Creek area, said he pondered what to say for several weeks. He decided to emphasize O’Connor’s roots in the soil of Arizona “rather than saying she had a fine scholastic record at Stanford.” Turley’s prepared remarkci stress O’Connor’s upbringing on a ranch near Duncan and her “heritage from a pioneer family in Arizona that is unique.” “To be reared in this environment where so many things are beyond ~n’s ~ontrol sometimes, not always, but sometlffies gives an added dimension of character to those who are subject to those forces,” he said. “A dimension of humility, faith in a divine providence, integrity and common sense developed from meeting that type of chaD:enge. “In my opinion Sandra bas this added dimension to a high degree. True, it is an intangible, but nevertheless real.” Turley also said he plans to defend o•eo~o.-‘s stands on abortion and the Equal Rights Amendment. He plans to tell the committee he thinks O’Connor has “demonstrated strong belief” in the separation of the three branches of government. “She has shown an impatience with the judicial branch when it has been used to make law rather