Arizona Republic, Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

Socialite: Justices’ reticence aside, Sandra O’Connor loves Washington parties

Arizona Republic, Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection / By

WASHING TON – Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor hit the Washington party circuit hard, e•en before she received the Senate’s blessing to sit on the high bench 18 months ago. Since then she has been as visible on the social scene as canapes and cocktails. While she is most often in the majority in the court’s conservative opinions, and has a reputation for being I • well-prepared for court sessions, O’Connor has become a dissenter from its tradition of keeping a low profile. Supreme Court justices are a reserved lot, rarely keen on after -hours socializing with Washington’s ruling circles. Appointed for life, they are about as close as this town gets to royalty. They have no need to answer to anyone but themselves and, for the most part, have chosen isolation instead of the well-worn Washington paths from party to party. “She is very visible socially,” says retired justice Potter Stewart, who was quite visible himself during his years on the court. “She’s attractive and likable and, of course, the first woman on the Supreme Court. People want to see her.” : : Indeed, O’Connor and her husband, John, are considered a big draw by the big guns in the Washington , party whirl. Only the president, vice president or the . ~hief justice rate higher. She is a novelty: the court’s first . woman, young (53), a good dancer and the picture of self-containment, obviously confident enough not to worry that as a freshman justice, she should uphold the court’s stuffy demeanor. • . Perhaps

Editorial, Phoenix Gazette, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

Skelly’s Treatment Undeserved

Editorial, Phoenix Gazette, The Kauffman-Henry Collection / By

During his 11 yean in the Arizona Legislature, Rep. Jim Skelly has earned a reputation as a staunch opponent of abortion and a fervent defender of the free enterprise system. It was Skelly who sponsored the bill that put a course on free enterprise economics in Arizona high schools. He has also backed numerous measures to protect unborn life. Because of his deep conviction that abortion is morally wrong Skelly has f!J>Oken out against the appointment of Sandra O’Connor to the U.S. Supreme Court. Skelly and Mrs. O’Connor cast opposing votes on the issue when Mrs. O’Connor was in the Legislature. . “l \ifi You ._r Skelly is apparently too outspoken for the Greyhound Corporation for whom he worked as a customer representative. Upset with his views on the O’Connor nomination, Greyhound asked Skelly to tone down his opposition. Unable to compromise his principles, Skelly resigned. Skelly’s stand is all the more courageous because he knows that it will have no influence on whether Mrs. O’Connor is confirmed by the U.S. Senate. She enjoys overwhelming support from Arizona and in Washington. That Skelly should be treated so shabbily by a major representative of the free market system he so ardently defends is indeed ironic.

Arizona Republic, Editorial, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

Skelly’s Principle

Arizona Republic, Editorial, The Kauffman-Henry Collection / By

RATHER than alter or abandon his criticism of Supreme Court Justicenominee Sandra O’Connor, state Rep. Jim Skelly quit his job with the Greyhound Corp. In so doing, he not only showed the courage of his convictions, but he also struck _ a blow for a legislative process free of unwarrant.ed pressures. His bosses, concerned that the public might confuse Skelly’s legislative role with his Greyhound customer-relations role, attempted to moderate his public utterances on Judge O’Connor’s nomination. Skelly, who still seethes over Judge O’Connor’s votes in the early 1970s on abortion when she served in the state senate, is outraged by her nomination. He fmds it diametrically opposed to “the welfare of the innocent unborn.” During more than five years with Greyhound, Skelly undoubtedly has said or done things as a legislator that weren’t totally to the company’s liking. Meanwhile, most of the community probably was unaware that he even worked for Greyhound. Why the company felt the need to control his views on Judge O’Connor is difficult to underst.and. Neither U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., nor any national group st.ands a chance of blocking her confirmation, much less a state representative. By leaning on Skelly the way it did, Greyhound bas given itself a black eye, and has done no great favor to business in general The company is correct when it says Judge O’Connor is “one of the most level-headed, intelligent justices, male or female, ever to serve on the bench.” But it does

Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection, Yuma Daily Sun

Skelly quits job rather than curtail criticism of nominee

Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection, Yuma Daily Sun / By

PHOENIX (AP) – Scottsdale Republican Rep. Jim Skelly says he has resigned his Greyhound Corp. job rather than knuckle down to pressure from Greyhound Chairman Gerald Trautman over Skelly’s criticism of the Sandra O’Connor Supreme Court nomination. Skelly, 47, a long-time abor- tion foe who earned $18,700 a year as a Greyhound customer relations representative in addition to his annual $15 000 legislative salary, said Thu~ay he quit after Trautman called him on Wednesday to complaint ~t Skelly’s remarks in opposition to the nomination “were intemperate.” He said Trautman especially objected to a published report that Skelly had said he was outraged by ~agan’s choice. When Trautman “put pressure on me to tone down my criticism of Sandra,” Skelly said, “I pointed out that ‘outraged’ was not in quotes, but that it might as well be because that’s the way I felt. “I told him I can’t tone down my remarks and said I was resigning,” Skelly added. He said Trautman told him, “Don’t resign, just take a week to think it over” but that “I told him I could thin,k about it till doomsday and it wouldn’t make any difference.” Trautman could not be reached, but Dorothy Lorant, vice president for public relations, issued this statement: ‘”We at Greyhound feel that Judge O’Connor is one of the most level-headed, intelligent justices, male or female, ever to serve on the bench, and that her appointment to the U.S. Supr~me Court would enhance that body. “Jim Skelly is a fine man and a conscientious

Letter to the editor, Sun City News and Sun, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

Single-Issue Arrogance

Letter to the editor, Sun City News and Sun, The Kauffman-Henry Collection / By

Rev. Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority have entered the dangerous religio-political area. They want to dictate the choice of a U.S. Supreme Court justice.

Mr. Falwell has suggested he talk to Arizona’s Judge Sandra O’Connor about abortion. Then, presumably, if he deems her views on it acceptable, the Senate can approve her nomination.

There has been a concentrated letter effort by the Moral Majority and others, on the single issue of abortion, to defeat her nomination. The arrogance of this action should anger Americans who believe that more is involved than that one issue.

We can’t let single-issue politics dictate the choice of a judge or any other public servant. The demands that the nomination be turned down must be countered by a flood of letters urging the Senate to decide no the basis of ability, background, experience and potential.

New York Post, Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

She’s Razor Sharp & Fully Informed

New York Post, Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection / By

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