Judge O’Connor Exhibits Restraint Under Fire by Senators

WASHINGTON – During her first public questioning by senators who must pass judgment on her, Sandra Day” O’Connor alternately displayed the qualities of a cautious lawyer, an evasive politician and a learned legal scholar. The approach she took in fending off .questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday may not have total ly satisfied those concerned about her views. Regardless, the relative ease with w~i’h she handled the committee members’ queries seemed to move the Arizona appeals court judge closer to becoming the Supreme Court’s first woman justice. ON THE OPENING day of her confirmation hearings, Judge O’Connor seemed to receive high marks, score legal points and receive support from those judging her qualifications to replace Justice Potter Stewart, who stepped down from the court two months ago. With the only overt opposition to her nomination directed at her stands on abortion and other social issues, she took the offensive – declaring in her opening statement she would not detail her views on specific issues that might later come before the high court. “To do so would mean I have prejudged the matter or have morally committed myself to a certain position,” she said. That position may not have pleased abortion foes, but she held to it during an afternoon of questioning by a dozen senators. Only after persistent questioning did : she say she found abortion abhorrent and never would have one herself. SEN. JOHN EAST , R-N.C., attempted to assure Judge O’Connor