O’Connor takes Oath: New Justice

WASHINGTON (AP) – Sandra Day O’Connor raised her right hand and swore the oath of office today as the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court. Vowing to “do equal right to the poor and to the rich,’ ‘ the former Arizona legislator and appeals court judge became Justice O’Connor during a brief ceremony in the marble and mahogany courtroom of the nation’s highest court. President Reagan was among the 500 guests who watched Chief Justice Warren Burger administer the oath of office. Also on hand was retired associate justice Potter Stewart, whom Mrs. O’Connor replaced. Following a court tradition, Mrs. O’Connor took two oaths, one at a private meeting of the justices and the other in the courtroom. The timing of her swearing in allows her to participate in the week-long conference the justices will start Monday in anticipation of the Oct. 5 opening of the court’s 1981-82 term. Reagan broke a 191-year, all-male tradition when he appointed Mrs . O’Connor to the lifetime job.