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

Honored by Post, Nominee Declares

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

The first woman to be nominated to the United States Supreme Court declared herself ”extremely honored and happy” today but told reporters at a hastily called 15-minute news conference, ”I can’t address myself to substantive questions pending confirmation.”
”If confirmed, I will do my best to serve the Court and this nation in a manner that will bring credit to the President, to my family and to all the people of this great nation,” Judge Sandra Day O’Connor of the Arizona Court of Appeals said in a brief statement.
Judge O’Connor, who has a reputation for being calm in the most difficult courtroom situation, appeared not only very happy but also a little nervous as she spoke to reporters in the courtroom.
She said the news of her appointment made today ”a momentous day in my life and the life of my family.” She was flanked by her husband, John Jay O’Connor 3d, a Phoenix lawyer; her three sons, Scott, Brian and Jay, and other members of the court.
Although Judge O’Connor spoke with President Reagan for about 15 minutes last week, the news of her appointment came as something of a surprise to her. Background Similar to Rehnquist’s
As late as Saturday, she told a group of friends that she thought the chance of her appointment was remote, partly because of the similarity between her background and that of Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist, another Arizonan. Judge O’Connor was graduated third in the Stanford University Law School class in which Justice William Rehnquist

Arizona Republic, Newspaper mention, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

High court won’t review death term in Tison case

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

High court won’t review death term in Tison case Appeals not exhausted for Randy Greenawalt The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to review the conviction and death sentence of Randy Greenawalt in the case of a Yuma family shotgunned to death during a gang rampage in 1978. Justice Sandra O’Connor of Phoenix, on her first day as an associat,e justice of the Supreme Court, joined the 7-2 majority that declined to review the case. Justices William Brennan and Thurgood Marshall dissented. Greenawalt’s attorney, Robert C. Brown of Casa Grande, said the appeal process is not over. Greenawalt still can take his appeal to the high court by appealing through lower federal courts. Brown said he had not talked with Greenawalt but assumed the appeal would be pursued. Greenawalt and Ricky and Raymond Tison were sentenced to death in 1979 for the murders of Marine Sgt. John F. Lyons; his wife, Donnelda; his 22-month-old son Christopher; and his niece, Teresa Jo Marie Tyson of Las Vegas, Nev. The four were killed aft.er Raymond, Ricky and their brother, Donald, helped their father, Gary, and Greenawalt escape from Arizona State Prison on July 30, 1978. The Tison gang committed the murders north of Yuma to obtain the Lyons’ car after the gang’s car had been disabled. Donald Tison was killed in a shootout near Casa Grande on Aug. 11, 1978. His father died of exposure in the desert while trying to elude pursuers. Brown said Greenawalt’s appeal was based on more than 20 legal questions including

Newspaper article, Prescott Courier, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

High Court’s 1st female starts to work Monday

Newspaper article, Prescott Courier, The Kauffman-Henry Collection / By

WASHINGTON (AP) – Her place in American history secure, Sandra Day O’Connor gets down to work Monday, her public notoriety as the first woman on the Supreme Court giving way to the private, workaday life of her eight fellow justices. Sworn in Friday as the high court’s 102nd member, she will meet with her colleagues Monday for a week of closed-door deliberations in anticipation of the Oct. 5 opening of the 1981-82 term. Even before she joined the court, Justice O’Connor told reporters she expected to become “very busy, very fast” in trying to master the 102 cases already scheduled for full study and decision. In addition, the court on Oct. 5 is expected to issue orders – most of them grants or denials of review for appeals left pending last July or those that arrived during the summer recess – in as many as 1,000 cases. Justice O’Connor inherits three law clerks who have spent most of the summer previewing those cases. As of Friday, the three young lawyers selected nearly a year ago to spend the coming term working for now-retired Justice Potter Stewart will work for Justice O’Connor. She has hired a lawyer from her husband’s Phoenix law firm to be a fourth clerk. Justice O’Connor also inherits some direct responsibility from the man she succeeds in the lifetime post. She will serve as circuit justice for the 6th federal judicial circuit, handling emergency matters from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. Justice O’Connor is moving into the chambers used until recently by

Newspaper article, Phoenix Gazette, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

High Court Opens Oct. 5: O’Connor Steps Into History

Newspaper article, Phoenix Gazette, The Kauffman-Henry Collection / By

WASHINGTON – Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, feeling “just great” about taking her place in history, is ready to begin work as the first woman on the Supreme Court. As President Reagan and 500 other spectators looked on, Justice Connor was sworn in Friday as the high court’s newest membei.:. On Monday, Justice O’Connor and her eight colleagues will begin a week of closed-door discussions on the more than 1,000 cases that have been building up over the summer. THE NEW JUSTICE has told reporters that she will be taking part in the conferences as the court gets ready for the Oct. 5 opening of its 1981-82 term. The court has been asked to review, among other issues, the legality of denying pre-trial freedom to all people accused of certain crimes; a state law making it a crime to “promote” non-obscene sexual performances by children; and a case that followed the death of Kerr-McGee Corp. employee Karen G. Silkwood, who was active in labor organizing efforts 1 at the plutonium plant and investigating allegedly unsafe conditions. But Friday, Justice O’Connor and her family enjoyed one last day of pomp and ceremony, capping her transition frolll an Arizo!)a appeals court judge to Supreme Court justice that began ‘ with Reagan’s announcement of her selection last July 7. WITH REAGAN and his wife, Nancy, sitting in 1 the front of the courtroom, Justice O’Connor swore her allegiance to the Constitution, and, in just a six• minute ceremony, ended a 191-year history of male exclusivity on the

Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection, Wall Street Journal

High Court nominee tells Senate panel that she personally opposes abortion

Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection, Wall Street Journal / By

WASHINGTON-Judge Sandra O’Connor began what seems certain to be a smooth sail toward Senate confirmation as the first woman Justice on the Supreme Court. I~ the first of three scheduled days of hearmgs before the Senate Judiciary Com mittee, Mrs. O’Connor maintained that she personally opposes abortion and strongly re spects the family. . The 51-year-old Arizona appeals court Judge cautiously fielded questions about her iudicial Philosop~y: She lar.i:elv avoided controversy, often givmg a rote recitation of her understanding of current law without expressing her views of the law. Asked early on in the hearings about her stand on abortion, Judge O’Connor said she opposes it “as a matter of birth control or otherwise.” . • Respect for Famllies In her own opening statement, she went out of her way to show her respect for the importance of families and family life. / Reading a portion of a standard marriage ~erem?ny she has used as a judge, she said: Marriage is far more than an exchange of vows .. It is the foundation of the family, it’s mankmd’s basic unit of society, it’s the hope of the world and the strength of our coun try.” She then introduced her husband John, a Phoenix lawyer, and her three sons.’ Her comments on abortion and on the f~ilf apparently were aimed at blunting cntJc1sm of her record on abortion by rightto-life groups that charge that she was in fa vor of abortion during four years as an Ari zona state senator. A handful of anti•abor tion demonstrators picketed

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

High court frontrunner is native El Pasoan

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

El Pasoan is court frontrunner

WASHINGTON (UPI) – Judge Sandra D. O’Connor of the Arizona Court of Appeals , a native El Pasoan, is on the short list of Potential nominees to fill the upcoming Supreme Court vacancy, it was learned today.

Administration sources said the choice would be made “very soon,” possibly next week, of a new Supreme Court justice for the opening that will occur Friday with the resignation of Justice Potter Stewart.

MRS. O’CONNOR WAS born in El Paso. Her parents had a ranch that crossed the New Mexico Arizona line in the area of Duncan, Ariz., and Lordsburg, N.M.

When it came time, Mrs. O’Connor’s mother traveled to El Paso to have the baby and stayed with Mrs. O’Connor’s grandmother, who lived in El Paso at the time.

David Gergen, White House director of communications, today ruled out any announcement of a new Supreme ‘ Court justice this weekend. He would not confirm that Judge O’Connor had been interviewed at the White House for the vacancy.

“I DON’T WANT TO speculate on names or the process” of selection, be said. “It’s not a fruitful exercise .”

The Washington Post, quoting well-placed administration officials, reported Ms. O’Connor has been interviewed for the high court opening and is being eyed as the frontrunner to fill the vacancy,

Aides to Sen. Barry Goldwater , R-Ariz., said today the senator immediately notified the White House about Judge O’Connor when Stewart announced his resignation.

“THE SENATOR HAS really pushed for her and