Honored by Post, Nominee Declares

The first woman to be nominated to the United States Supreme Court declared herself ”extremely honored and happy” today but told reporters at a hastily called 15-minute news conference, ”I can’t address myself to substantive questions pending confirmation.”
”If confirmed, I will do my best to serve the Court and this nation in a manner that will bring credit to the President, to my family and to all the people of this great nation,” Judge Sandra Day O’Connor of the Arizona Court of Appeals said in a brief statement.
Judge O’Connor, who has a reputation for being calm in the most difficult courtroom situation, appeared not only very happy but also a little nervous as she spoke to reporters in the courtroom.
She said the news of her appointment made today ”a momentous day in my life and the life of my family.” She was flanked by her husband, John Jay O’Connor 3d, a Phoenix lawyer; her three sons, Scott, Brian and Jay, and other members of the court.
Although Judge O’Connor spoke with President Reagan for about 15 minutes last week, the news of her appointment came as something of a surprise to her. Background Similar to Rehnquist’s
As late as Saturday, she told a group of friends that she thought the chance of her appointment was remote, partly because of the similarity between her background and that of Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist, another Arizonan. Judge O’Connor was graduated third in the Stanford University Law School class in which Justice William Rehnquist