First Woman Justice Named to Supreme Court of U.S.

WASHINGTON – President Reagan nominated Judge Sandra D. O’Connor of the Arizona Court of Appeals on Tuesday to become the first woman justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Upon confirmation by the Senate – considered certain – the 51- year-old jurist would succeed Justice Potter Stewart. Mr. Reagan told a nationwide television audience that naming a Supreme Court justice is the most awesome appointment a president can make because the high court leaves “footprints on the sands of time.” The president recalled that during his campaign he made a commitment to appoint the most qualified woman he could find. “That is not to say I would appoint a woman merely to do so,” he added. “That would not be fair to women, nor to future generations of all Americans.” He said Judge O’Connor possesses the qualities of temperament, fairness, intellectual capacity and devotion to the public good that have characterized the 101 “brethren” who have served at the Supreme Court . Active in Republican politics in Arizona, she was co-chairman of Richard M. Nixon’s state campaign committee in 1968. She was majority leader in Arizona’s state senate in 1973 and is the only woman ever to hold that job. Her Legislative Record There was quick opposition to her nomination from the National Right to Life Committee, the largest U .S. anti-abortion group. Mr . Reagan, however, said he is completely satisfied with her record on such issues. Although she is considered a conservative, her legislative record shows a