Luncheon honors Judge O’Connor

WASHINGTON – Sandra O’Connor, on the eve of her historic ascendancy to the nation’s highest court; was honored Thursday by President Reagan during a Rose Garden reception and at a White House luncheon. Judge O’Connor – who today will become the 102nd member and first woman on the Supreme Court – stood beaming in the brilliant sunshine outside the Oval Office as Reagan promised he will strive to “enhance the prestige and quality of the federal bench.” Judge O’Connor will take two oaths today from Chief Justice Warren Burger, the first a “constitutional oath” in the justices’ conference room – the private sanctum where the members of the court meet to hammer out the nuances of the law of the land. That will be followed by a “judicial oath” administered in a public ceremony at 2 p.m. in the huge, marble-columned courtroom which will be filled with court personnel, the O’Connor family, reporters, and dignitaries, including the president.