O’Connor sworn in today

WASHINGTON (AP) – Sandra Day O’Connor raised her right hand and swore the oath of office today as the 102nd American – and the first woman – to sit on the Supreme Court. Justice O’Connor, an Arizona appeals court judge before she was picked to become an associate justice of the nation’s highest court, promised to uphold the Constitution and “faithfully discharge the duties of my office.” Asked by Chief Justice Warren E. Burger if she were ready to take her oath, Mrs. O’Connor replied in a steady voice: “I am.” With her right hand aloft and her left hand on a Bible, Mrs. O’Connor completed the oath flawlessly. Burger was the first to call her “Justice O’Connor” as he welcomed her to the court. Two hours before her swearing-in, Mrs. O’Connor posed for photographers and television camera crews in the brilliant sunlight of the court’s massive front plaza. She was accompanied by Burger, who asked photographers, “You’ve never seen me with a better looking justice, have you?” She was dressed in the robe she wore as a state judge. “I’ll buy a new one eventually,” she said. “They do get old, you know. The arms get all worn out.” The chief justice suggested that Congress might be willing to appropriate funds for a new robe. Mrs. O’Connor, her arm held by Burger, posed with her parents, Harry and Ada Mae Day; her husband, John; and their three sons. Mrs. O’Connor appeared relaxed, and laughed heartily as a close family friend, former Phoenix Mayor John. Driggs, turned the tables on reporters