O’Connor in historic ceremony
WASHINGTON (AP) – Sandra Day O’Con nor ra ised her ri ght ha nd an d swo re the oath of offic e today as the 102nd Americ an – and the first woman – to sit on the Supreme Court. Vowing to “do equal right to the poor and to the r ich ,” the former Ari zona legisla tor and appeals court judge be came Justice O’Conn or dur ing a br ief ceremony in the marble and mahogan y courtroom of the nati on ‘s highes t cou rt. Presiden t Reagan , who broke a 191- year trad ition when he appo inted Mrs. O’Connor to the lifetime positio n, was a mong the 500 gues ts wh o wa tc h ed Chief Justice Warren E. Bur ger adm inister the oath of office , Also on hand wa s retired as soci a te ju sti ce Potter Stewart , whom Mrs . O’Connor repla ced . Two hours earlier , Mrs. O’Con nor had posed for-photographers an d tele vi• sion camera crews in the brillian t sun• light of the court’s mass ive fron t plaza. Burger, who accompan ied her , asked photographers , “Yo u’v e ne ve r seen me with a better looking jus ti ce , have you ?” Asked ho w sh e felt on the thresh- . old of histor y, Mr s. O’Connor sm iled and rep lied , “Jus t gre at.” She was dre ssed in the robe she wore as a state ju dge. “I’ ll bu y a new on e even tually ,” she said. “They do get old, you know . The arm s get a ll worn out.” Burger sugge sted Congress migh t be willi ng to appr opr iat e fun ds for a new robe . Mr s. O’Con no r , he r a r m held by Burge r, posed with her parents , Ha rry and Ada Mae Da y; her hu sband , J
Arizona Daily Star, Editorial, The Kauffman-Henry Collection
Arizona’s first lady of the bench
Arizona is justly proud of Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. She made it clear during her nomination hearing that the nation can count on her to judge cases fairly, on their merits, according to law and not by preconceived notions. It is especially heartening to note that not all the zealous opposition by radical-right, Moral Majority and anti-abortion factions that wanted her defeated carried the slightest might. Her praises rang through the Senate chamber, and the senators unanimously confirmed her nomination. O’Connor’s opponents objected to her support of women’s issues such as the Equal Rights Amendment, removal of sexual distinctions from all state laws, and public money for family planning services. Yet at the same time, she has expressed doubts about busing for racial desegregation and the exclusionary rule, which bars the use at trial of illegally obtained evidence, and she finds abortion personally unacceptable. Whatever her personal views, as a judge she calls them as she sees them. O’Connor stressed at the hearings the importance of not allowing personal inclinations to enter decisions. Sandra O’Connor follows in a line of distinguished “firsts” for Arizona women. Arizona produced the first woman to serve as a chief justice on a state supreme court, Loma Lockwood. Mary Anne Richey of Tucson was the first woman appointed as a U.S. attorney. She now is a federal District Court judge. -O’Connor’s appointment as Supreme Court justice
Kalamazoo Gazette, Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection
The Brethren and She: Sandra O’Connor takes step in history
WASHINGTON – In a six-minute ceremony, Sandra Day O’Connor broke through two centuries of male exclusivity and donned her robe Friday as an associate justice of the Supreme Court. With President Reagan, her family and 500 others watching, O’Connor stood beside Chief Justice Warren E. Burger and promised to “support and defend the Constitution” and faithfully carry out her duties. “Justice O’Connor, welcome to the court,” Burger said at the conclusion of the oath. “I wish you a long life and a long and happy career in our common calling.” 9’Connor, who will be addressed by her brethren as “Justice _O’Connor” – no courtesy title – was preceded by 101 men, dating to the court’s founding in 1790. The court’s members were previously known as “Mr. Justice,” as in “Mr. Justice Stewart.” However, last November they dropped that title in favor of simply “Justice.” It was assumed that the change anticipated the naming of the first woman to the high court. . EARLIER, O’CONNOR and her husband, Pheonix attorney John J. O’Connor III, rode with the president and first lady Nancy Reagan up Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House to the Supreme Court, just east of the Capitol. The short ceremony started late, at 2:12 p.m. Sitting across from Justice O’Connor in the front of the courtroom were the Reagans, O’Connor’s husband and O’Connor sons Scott, 23, Brian, 21, and Jay, 20. Nearby were her parents, Harry and Ada Mae Day. Next to the president was Potter Stewart, whose retirement last July
Honolulu Advertiser, Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection
O’Connor seated: Robe’s the same but the pink dress makes history
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Maybe Congress could appropriate some money, Burger sugeested To some onlookers, the scene was life imitating art, a scene out of “First Monday In October .” a cur – rent comic film about the first woman justice . O’Connor, at 51, also is the youngest justice on a court dominated by men well past normal retirement age. Five of the nine justices, appointed by Presidents Dwight Eisenhower. Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, are over 70. O’Connor, having won the confirmation plaudits of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the full Senate by votes of 17–0 and 99-0, will find little unanimity among her new male colleagues on the most controversial issues of the day. For years. the justices have been split, often with a sinele vote -separ ating them, on cases involving school desegregation, affirmative J action, abortion, state aid to reli- – gion, obscenity , government regula- , tion and the death penalty 1 A conservative on many issues, O’Connor is expected to make little difference in the court’s fraeile balance because she replaces the retired Potter Stewart, who voted conservatively on school busing, affirmative action, school prayer, health and safety regulations and other bitterly debated subjects .
Op ed, The Kauffman-Henry Collection
Logic got lost in O’Connor debate
WASHINGTON (AP) -Somewhere, logic got lost in the debate over Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s appointment to the Supreme Court. She is, after all, a conservative Republican, her conservative detractors notwithstanding. She takes to the court a conservative’s reverence for precedent and letterof-the Constitution-interpretation of the law. Yet conservatives who claim to share that philosophy were critical of her nomination, and some remained skeptical even as they joined in unanimous Senate confirmation of the first woman justice. Single-issue politics-in this case, the issue was abortion-can distort a debate that way. AFTER failing to get Mrs. O’Connor’s assurance that she would act to …
proximately 200 years of the court, has been accurately able to predict what a justice of the Supreme Court would be like,” said Sen. Joseph Biden Jr., DDel. Biden said the debate unfolded as it did because nowadays it is liberals, not conservatives, who want strict constructionists on the federal bench. That’s because liberals do not want to overturn decisions of the Warren Court. He said what Helms and his conservative allies really want is activist judges. “If Judge O’Connor is not an activist, she has problems , because she is not going to be overturning the decisions that they-and I on occasion-sometimes find odious, obnoxious or totally reprehensible, ” said Biden, who also opposes the abortion decision. Judicial conservatism and political conservatism , particularly that of the New Right
Mesa Tribune, Newspaper mention, The Kauffman-Henry Collection
Access for all
A ccording to Sandra O’Connor, the first woman justice of the Supreme Court, “a court’s duty is to interpret laws and test them against the constitution – not to usurp the duties of the legislative and executive branches.” Similarly, this newspaper’s role in the community is to report facts and opinions which reflect the wide spectrwn of interests. Our industry is referred to as a fourth estate, a quasi branch of gov~rnment. Thomas Jefferson went so far as to say, “Given a choice between a government .without a newspaper or a newspaper without a government, I would not hesitate for a moment to choose the latter.” !o fulfill our community responsibility of reporting the news, this newspaper must be accessible both to low-profile groups and the community movers and shakers. !he. ~irst group, which includes the elderly, handicapped, mmorities, youth, and the unborn, often do not get a fair shake because they have difficulty obtaining access to media sources. In contrast, the movers and shakers have no difficulty with media access and are heard from often. In the interest of fairness, I feel it is our responsibility to assist as o~ten ~s we c~ th~e ~orities which find it difficult to get a public voice. This attitude IS part of our commwlity responsibility and does not represent a preference on our part for any particular group or organization.
Arizona Business Gazette, Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection
O’Connor formally resigns from appeals court
Sandra O’Connor, formally resigning from the Arizona Court of Appeals, attributed her appointment as the first woman U.S. Supreme Court justice to Gov. Bruce Babbitt and the women “of yesterday and today.” O’Connor, whose nomination to the Supreme Court was confirmed 99-0 by the Senate Sept. 21, resigned, effective immediately, in a letter submitted to Babbitt. She recalled Babbitt, a Democrat, appointed her to the Appeals Court on Dec. 4, 1979 and said she doubted she would have received the Supreme Court nomination had it not been for that appointment. “You appointed me to the office I now leave,” she told Babbitt. “You appointed me not only despite the [act that we belong to two different political parties, but fully aware that my appointment did not seem politic to certain of your advisors. “I believe I would not have been named to the United States Supreme Court unless I had been a sitt_ing appellate court judge. Thus, but for your action, I would today be a Superior Court judge in Maricopa County rather than a United State Supreme Court justice in Washington. “If, indeed I will walk across the pages of history, then you played a most vital role in starting me on my journey. I thank you for that start.” O’Connor, a Superior Court judge from 1975 until she was appointed by Babbitt to the Appeals Court said she was accepting her new position and resigning from old one with mixed emotions. “I have been greatly honored by my appointment to the Supreme Court,” she said. “I have
Letter to the editor, Phoenix Gazette, The Kauffman-Henry Collection
Disgusted with hearings
Where does the Senate, the Moral Majority or anyone get their nerve to insist that an appointee to the Supreme Court or to any position has to agree with them on every issue whether it be abortion or anything else? The deficiencies in our form of government were obvious after witnessing the extreme pressure put on Sandra O’Connor from a bunch of idiots who insist that everyone has to think their way. And these people were appointed by us to preserve our rights and freedoms!
HAIG LORDIGYAN Paradise Valley