O’Connor passes test

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the nomination of Sandra Day O’Connor to the U.S. Supreme Court by a vote of 17-0 Tuesday. Only Sen. Jeremiah Denton of Alabama kept it from being unanimous by abstaining.

It is an honor which O’Connor richly deserves , for she ha s an outstanding record of public service. It is a position for which she is eminently qualified on the basis of her knowledge of law , her objectivity and her brilliant mind. Friday the full Senate is scheduled to approve the nomination . Then the woman who grew up on a ranch in eastern Arizona will become the first female member of the court and its 102nd member.

The committee hearings were fascinating to follow. They demons tr ate d O’Connor’s grasp of legal details and concepts, as well as her ability to field difficult and provocative questions.

Opposition was essentially limited to a small but strident group of senators and witnesses who wanted O’Connor to take an unequivocal position against abortion.

Perhaps the best answer to the opponents came when Sen. Howard Metzenbaum, D-Ohio, declared that although he did not agree with the nominee on every issue, he recognized her total qualifications. He told witness Dr. Carolyn Gerster of Arizona, that judicial qualifications had to be considered on more than a single narrow issue.

For the most part, committee questions were not hostile, although individual members obviously did not agree with every answer. They did, however, agree with the Metzenbaum philosophy.