She’s Razor Sharp & Fully Informed

By LARRY NATHANSON ”IT’S HARD to play the male chauvinist with Judge O’Connor,” said her former boss. “Her strong talent is too well respected,” said Chief Justice Laurance T. Wren of the Arizona Court of Appeals. Sandra O’Connor goes from a court where she is the only woman among eight men to the U.S. Supreme Court where she will be the only woman among eight men; the first woman to break into the old boys’ club in almost 200 years of the court’s history. And when Sandra O’Connor speaks, her former boss suggests the Supreme Court justices behave like actors in an E.F. Hutton commercial. “They should listen because Judge O’Connor has something to say,” says Justice Wren. “She has a keen Intelligence, extensive knowledge of the law, Is outspoken on the issues and when she speaks she’s fully prepared and fully informed.” Yesterday, President Reagan named Mrs. O’Connor, 51, to fill the seat of retiring Justice Potter Stewart. Within minutes of the announcement her colleagues on Arizona’s highest court showered her with the ungrudging compliments of big brothers but with none of the condescension. “She has a razor sharp mind which, combined with a steady temperament, , makes her well-suited for the tough questions that would be presented to a U.S. Supreme Court Justice, said Appeals Court Judge Donald Froeb. “A hard-working bright lady. An excellent Judge, an asset,” said Judge Eino Jacobson. “We’re sorry to lose her, but there is such a feeling of excitement and elation here that