Arizona Republic, Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

Judge O’Connor earned peers’ respect

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

Experience on trial bench expected to help nominee

Arizona Appeals Court Judge Sandra Day O’Connor would take a qualification to the U.S. Supreme Court shared by only one other current justice – experience as a trial judge. That experience can be of “inestimable value” to the Supreme Court, several . U.S. District Court judges said Tuesday. Judge O’Connor’s tenure as a Maricopa County Superior Court judge “can be a major contribution (to the Supreme Court),” U.S. District Judge Valdemar Cordova said. He served with her in the Maricopa County Superior Court. “I believe it is important to have a good balance on the Supreme Court,” he said. “The addition of Judge O’Connor can provide that balance. She can shed the light of her trial court experience on the proceedings of the Supreme Court.” Cordova said trial judges must make decisions “in the heat of battle .” They do not have “the lu:r.ury of contemplation” afforded appellate judges. “Almost any competent lawyer can take a court transcript and pick it apart after the fact,” he said. “So-called Monday-morning quarterbacking is easy.” Cordova prai sed Mrs. O’Connor ‘s “knowledge of th e law and e:r.perience on the bench” and said it would be of “inestimable value to t he Supreme Court.” Presiding U.S. District Court Judge Carl A. Muecke agreed that trial e:r.perience “can be an important addition to the Supreme Court, especially in correctly ascertaining just how far an appellate court can go and what the limits of an appellate

Newspaper article, St. Louis Globe-Democrat, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

Judge O’Connor Confirmed

Newspaper article, St. Louis Globe-Democrat, The Kauffman-Henry Collection / By

Senate votes 99-0 for woman on high court WASHINGTON (AP) -The Senate, ending an all-male tradition nearly two centuries old, unanimously confirmed Sandra Day O’Connor as a justice of the Supreme Court Monday. Judge O’Connor, a 51-year-old Arizona state appeals judge, will be sworn in Friday in time to join the court for the opening of its 1981-82 term Oct. 5. The vote was 99-0, with only Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., who was attending an economic conference in his home state, missing. He had supported Judge O’Connor in earlier committee action. AFTER THE VOTE, Judge O’Connor appeared on the steps of the Capitol with Senate leaders and Vice President George Bush. Grinning jubilantly, she said, “My hope is that after I’ve been across the street and worked for a while that they’ll all feel glad for the wonderful vote they gave me today.” “Today is truly a historic occasion,” said Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, leading off a series of 22 pre-vote speeches in warm praise of President Reagan’s first high court nominee. Hailing a “happy and historic day,” President Reagan said in a statement the confirmation of his nominee “symbolizes the richness of opportunity that still abides in America – opportunity that permits persons of any sex, age or race, from every section and walk of life, to aspire and achieve in a manner never before even dreamed about in human history.” AS THE VOTE neared, a small knot of conservatives who had questioned Judge

Chicago Tribune, Op ed, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

Golf pro found O’Connor to be supremely qualified

Chicago Tribune, Op ed, The Kauffman-Henry Collection / By

WHEN PRESIDENT REAGAN nominated Judge Sandra O’Connor to become the first woman Supreme Court Justice, Steve Dunnmg took it hke the pro he is. “I was teaching her according to a four-year plan, and we’d only completed two,”‘ he said. ” As my pupil, I would have expected her to consult me about whether she should accept such a Job. But, I guess, opportunities hke this don’t come along every day, do they?” Dunning, a droll fellow of 34, is a golf instructor – and a good one – at the Glen View Club, an arboretum in Golf, Ill., which embraces some of God’s greenest acres. This is one course so beautifully manicured that you hate to see anybody take a divot, and so classy that even the birds stop chirpmg when a member is about to putt. During the wmter, when even Glen View isn’t playable, Dunnmg irons out slices m Arizona. Judge O’Connor works there, and Dunning was hired to tutor her when she chose to swing a 7-iron rather than a gavel. “AN OUTSTANDING PERSON, in t!!e top one per cent of the people I’ve ever taught,” said Dunning, who despite his age, has been a golf guru for more than a decade. ” Because of the demands on her time, she didn’t have a lot of time to play, but she pretty much kept to a routine She and her husband John would take a lesson from me every Saturday, then play nine holes, then come back and play 18 holes on Sunday. Last winter when I left there. I believe her handicap was in the low 20s. Not bad considering she only played 27 holes a week. When O’Connor

Arizona Republic, Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

Judge O’Connor calls on Capitol leaders; O’Connor

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

Legislators are predicting easy sailing for nominee New York Tim es WASHINGTON – Sandra O’Connor, President Reagan’s choice to sit on the Supreme Court, sat between Sens. Howard Baker and Robert Byrd on Tuesday afternoon and immediately scored a political point. “Senator Byrd,” Judge O’Connor said, addressing the minority leader, a man who considers himself an authority on the Senate, “tell me a little about the history of this great institution.” Baker, the majority leader, broke into laughter, saying, “Judge, you don’t know what you’ve just asked!” Byrd just smiled. Then he congratu – lated Judge O’Connor, not on her nomination to the Supreme Court but on her confirmation by the Senate, “which I feel will be forthcoming.” . In her first afternoon on Capitol Hill, “‘ Judge O’Connor, who if confirmed would be the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, proved particularly adept at a peculiar Washington ritual: the courtesy call. This is the custom that requires nominees of the executive and judicial branches to travel to Capitol Hill to woo members of the legislative branch, particularly those who sit on pertinent committees. It is a time for smiles and handshakes, not for substantive discussions.

“It’s going just fine, thank you,” said Judge O’Connor of the Arizona Court of Appeals as she breezed down a Capitol hallway, her heels clicking on the marble floor. On her right was William French Smith, the attorney general. On her left was Baker.

Accompanied by a mob of

Arizona Republic, Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

Judge O’Connor backs ’73 Ruling on legal abortion

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

WASHING TON – Sandra O’Connor was quoted Wednesday as saying that whatever her personal views are, she believes Supreme Court justices should follow existing high-court rulings – including one that legalized abortion. In a 1973 decision, the Supreme Court said abortion is covered by privacy rights guaranteed under the Constitution. In her second day of a &0mewhat frenetic tour among the powerful of Washington, Judge O’Connor met with President Reagan and various members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, including Sen. Charles Mathias Jr., R-Md. Reagan and Mathias joined Senate leaders in predicting easy Senate confirmation of Judge O’Connor to become the first woman Supreme Court justice. The soft-spoken judge met five Republican senators Wednesday, including Mathias, Orrin Hatch of Utah, Roger Jepsen and Charles Grassley of Iowa, and Rudy Boschwitz of Minnesota. More meetings are scheduled with Jesse Helms, R-N.C., and others today. Grassley eaid he spoke about abortion with the judge for five minutes during which she expessed the view that it was a subject that could be handled by Congress. Saying he had not made up his mind on how he would vote, Grassley eaid he believes Judge O’Connor is a “strict constructionist” who believes in interpreting the Constitution, and not legislating from the court. Mathias, a moderate Republican who often is at odds with the conservative majority on the Judiciary Committee, eaid he learned during his 40-minute meeting with Judge O’Connor that

Letter to the editor, San Diego Union, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

Judge O’Connor

Letter to the editor, San Diego Union, The Kauffman-Henry Collection / By

Five years ago I heard the commencement address made by Judge Sandra Day O’Connor at the Orme School, in Arizona. When someone told me that an Arizona woman had been nominated to the Supreme Court vacancy, I felt quite sure that it must be she. When the news confirmed my judgment, a lump of patriotism rose in my throat. It isn’t often that one feels secure in judging anyone, least of all a judge, by one meeting. Judge O’Connor is an exception to that need for prudence. She exudes competence and integrity a degree impossible to fake. She radiates simple, uncomplicated honesty, while, at the same time, exhibiting all of the sophistication necessary in dealing with political sophistry. In my view, nothing in the Reagan administration’s actions is more significant than this appointment which should do more to cool off government by faction than any certain other move which can be imagined. One is tempted to predict that she will disarm even the liberals.

CHARLES R. LA DOW San Diego

El Paso Herald-Post, Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

Judge Not Packing Yet

El Paso Herald-Post, Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection / By

“Very flattering, but I’m not packing my bags,” said Judge Sandra Day O’Connor, Arizona Court of Appeals, about being considered for the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy. ” I don’t have the appointment and I still have a long way to go.” SHE TALKED TO the Herald-Post about her El Paso background today by phone from Phoenix, just before she and her husband left for the northern Arizona mountains on a vacation. “My parents are Harry and Ada Mae Day,” she said. “They live on the Lazy B Ranch in the New Mexico and Arizona area , where they’ve always lived. My folks have lived on the Lazy B since 1880. “When I went to El Paso to school, I lived with my grandmother, Mrs. W. W. Wilkey. I went to Radford School for Girls for many, many years and then to Austin High School for the last two years .” SHE WAS GRADUATED from Austin in 1946 and recalls her school days as very happy. She remembers some old schoolmates : “Cita Fletcher was one of my close friends,” she said. “I remember Sam Young Jr .. .. Rondy Hill … Paquita Schwartz.” My aunt Evelyn Wooten lived in El Paso, but she’s now in Houston. My uncle Scott Wilkey still lives in El Paso.

“My cousin, Flornoy Davis, married Sal Manzo, and they lived in El Paso after his retirement from the military. They now live in Houston. Another El Paso cousin is Mrs. John (Amanda) Kipp.” She visits El Paso on occasion, she said. MEANWHILE HER former classmates and friends were excited over the prospect of her appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The

Op ed, Prescott Courier, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

Judge her by her enemies

Op ed, Prescott Courier, The Kauffman-Henry Collection / By

I have to admit when Sandra O’Connor first was mentioned as a possible U.S. Supreme Court Justice nominee, I was a bit skeptical. I had hoped President Reagan would nominate a qualified woman – and there are many – for the position. but I was concerned with Judge O’Connor’s limited ( 18 months> appellate court experience. Several factors have changed my concern to total acceptance. The first was learning more about her background and reputation. Second was the class she has shown before and since her nomination. Third was the praise heaped upon her by Arizona Appeals Court Judge Jack Ogg of Prescott, a man whom I and manv others in this state hold in high regard . The real clincher. however. came when it was announced that her nomination was opposed bv the KKKK. . Not to be confused with the Ku Klux Klan. this newer and more visible group is the Kneejerk ( K >nitpicking ( K >neandcrthal (KJnuts. ~onsisting of such a rightthmkers as the Moral Majority ‘s ~ev. Jerry_ Falwell (“Everything 1s a Satamc or Communist plot. send in the bucks.”> and Richard Viguerie of the National Conservative Political Action Committee (“Forget the truth. people will believe anything they see on television.”>. the new KKKK most likely would not be satisfied with any nominee less conservative than Atilla the Hun. . _Ju~ge O’Connor’s record. qual1f1cations and character are impeccable. That’s probably bothering them. what”s If you happen to be one of those folks who loves growth and congestion, hit your