A Tribute to Justice Sandra Day O’Connor

Glen D. Nager*

I had the honor of serving as a judicial law clerk to Sandra Day O’Connor during the October 1983 Term. She was then and is now a Justice who revered the Supreme Court and who took her responsibil ity to interpret the law impartially with the utmost seriousness. Given that I am a former law clerk owing the Justice and the Court the con tinuing obligations of confidentiality and discretion, I feel obliged to eschew further comment on her jurisprudence, judicial craftsmanship, and impact on the law and the Court. However, no tribute to Sandra Day O’Connor, or “SOC” as her law clerks affectionately call her, would be complete without a recognition of her admirable nonjudicial personae. So I am pleased to accept the Review’s invitation to provide firsthand reflections about a Justice who remains a personal and treas ured friend to so many.

One of SOC ‘s nonjudicial personae is revealed in her love of mar riage and devotion to it. Her half-century romance with John J. O’Connor, or “JOC” as we call him, is enhanced by a mutual love af firmed daily, and by a lifelong commitment that clearly influences all of SOC’s priority decisions. But also prominent on SOC’s romantic record are her tireless efforts to play matchmaker for others – and particularly for her own law clerks. For some, she actively seeks ideal partners. For others, she just tries to seal the deal. In my case, I had already found the “perfect woman”; but, to SOC ‘s dismay,