Justice O’Connor delivers her first written opinion

WASHINGTON – Sandra O’Connor’s first opinion as a Supreme Court justice – delivered Tuesday in an oil- and gas-leasing dispute – came on a unanimous vote. But it was nonetheless a controversial ruling that says the Interior Department need not try out different offshore-leasing arrangements that might provide more revenue for the government and less for oil companies. With Justice O’Connor reading her first decision from the bench, the high court by a 9-0 vote struck down a ruling that had ordered the government to “experiment” in leasing deals with oil firms that want to drill on the Outer Continental Shelf. The alternative leasing plans are intended to give small firms a better chance when competing against the biggest oil companies in bidding for drilling rights. Justice O’Connor, who promised at her confirmation hearings that her opinions would be “terse,” fulfilled that vow with a 17-page ruling that avoided flowery language. _ , Shortly after Tuesday’s session opened, Justice O’Connor – the first woman ever to sit on the nation’s highest court – delivered her opinion in a steady voice. Seated at the far right of the long mahogany bench, the customary spot for the court’s junior justice, she took five minutes to read parts of it to the near-capacity crowd in the marble-columned courtroom. Her opinion managed to cover the history of the dispute in just over seven pages. In the remaining 10, she discussed the arguments on both sides, concluding with the court’s analysis and