A Historic Day

THE scrutiny that Sandra Day O’Connor underwent during confirmation hearings to become the first woman justice of the U.S. Supreme Court will not end with her swearing in t.oday. For at least the next several years – or at least .until her sex no longer seems unique for a Supreme Court justice – journalists and legal scholars will poke, pry and ponder as they evaluate the work and habits of Justice O’Connor. For their part, newsmen will try to penetrate the wall of secrecy around the court’s deliberations, seeking inside reports on how this lone woman fares with eight men during deliberations. Legal scholars will dissect each new ruling seeking some clue as to whether the feminist touch finally has found its way into the stodgy wording and the male reasoning of court decisions. Justice O’Connor’s private life will be just as thoroughly watched, as she inevitably begins to mingle in Washington’s cosmopolitan set of politicians, diplomats and favorseekers. Her wardrobe also will be the object of scrutiny, especially by fashion gossips who look for trends among Washington’s pacesetters and powerful. This is the price anyone in public life pays. But Justice O’Connor’s price will even be higher because of the history she has created, and the fact that she’s a woman. She will bear the burden well, even with wit and humor. And in time, those who will have given her inordinate scrutiny will tire of their tasks. Justice O’Connor has an established judicial reputation in Arizona for immersing