Magazine article

“Why Judges Wear Black Robes” in Smithsonian magazine

Magazine article / By

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on Why Judges Wear Black Robes
The Supreme Court icon breaks down the tradition
By Sandra Day O’Connor
Smithsonian magazine,
November 2013.

The simple black judicial robe has been a part of my life for nearly four decades. I first wore one in 1975 when I became a trial judge in Arizona. When I was appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States, in 1981, I brought that same robe with me to Washington and wore it on my first day on the bench. Although I retired in 2006, I still wear a robe in my role as a “circuit-rider,” sitting frequently , as many retired justices do, on various federal Courts of Appeals across the country.

It is surprising to me how little we know about where this plain black judicial uniform comes from. Colonial judges in England wore robes, and the tradition took off on American soil as well. But English judges also wore colorful robes and ornate wigs—a tradition that was not adopted in the United States. Some speculate that the Supreme Court began with more colorful attire; the court’s official portrait of the first chief justice, John Jay, shows him in a robe of black and red with white borders. The story, perhaps apocryphal, is that Thomas Jefferson himself objected to such unnecessary pomp: As an ardent supporter of modest republican citizenship, Jefferson was against “any needless official apparel,” especially “the monstrous wig which makes the English judges look like rats peeping through bunches of oakum.” It is

Speech

Acceptance speech for becoming the fifth Honorary Reagan Fellow at Eureka College

Speech / By

Sandra Day O’Connor
Thank you so much. It is really a delight for me to be able to come here to this place to the place where Ronald Reagan went to college, to receive the award, and to be part of this institution. And I’m just, I wouldn’t have traded this for anything. It’s really wonderful. Me, we all know how special Ronald Reagan was. And now I see part of what made him such. I’ve enjoyed today so much seeing and meeting a number of the students here at the college. I’ve been impressed by them. They’re wonderful. They’re a delight. And it just, this is a special place and you’re carrying out very good work in helping these students start their lives in a way that will serve as an example on a pattern for others to follow them in due course. I’m really happy to be here. Now I want to get to know my fellow honorary. Why do we call them fellows? fellows? Baron, get some more girls in there.

Anyway, it will be fun for the year in the years ahead to meet some of my colleagues and Miss BF. And I look forward to it. I’ve just welcomed the remarks that I’ve been able to hear while being here. And to meet the people I’ve met. I’ve always admired some of the things that are accomplished in this part of the world, your great companies that are here. We have a, why do we call it, the company that makes the tractors, Caterpillar? Caterpillar. I grew up on a ranch and we used to have a Caterpillar Tractor. And we had to get a new one occasionally. Not too often, they were too expensive.

Speech

Speech at the American Inns of Court National Symposium

Speech / By

Host
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, thank you.

Sandra Day O’Connor
Thank you so much for a warm introduction, and thanks to the American Inns of Court Foundation for putting on this symposium. And I want to express appreciation to my fellow panelists for taking time to lend their expertise to the importance of civic education. Now, today, I’m just an unemployed cowgirl. But my life and my career off the ranch have spanned complex, contentious and crucial periods in our nation’s history. And I’ve been fortunate to have both witness some of that history and been part of some of it.

Growing up on a cattle ranch in America’s Southwest, shaped so much of what and who I am, and shaped values that still guide me. I do remain a cowgirl at heart. But other chapters in my life have also informed me and shape some of my beliefs. My experiences on the Supreme Court and following are what drove me to my present passion for, and commitment to, civic learning in America. But before getting into that, let me take you back to an earlier time and quite relates to this conversation.

When I graduated from Stanford Law School, I was engaged to be married to John. And he promptly got drafted, he’d been deferred. And we both like to eat. So one of us had to get a job. And that was me. I had done very well in law school, I was way up there and Law Review and all those things. And so I thought it wouldn’t be a problem. And there were at least 40 notices on the placement bulletin board at Stanford saying

Speech

Speech to the National Conference of State Legislatures

Speech / By

Sandra Day O’Connor
It’s really a treat to be here with you this year to open the National Conference of State Legislators—Legislatures, for the 2013 Legislative Summit.

And I thank you very much for welcoming me here today. As a former Arizona legislator, I really appreciate the chance to be among all of you, I know what you go through. And I have a lot of respect for the work that the National Conference of State Legislatures does to try to ensure quality and effectiveness of state legislative bodies, and the work that each of you do to ensure this in your own state. So thank you for being here today and letting me join you.

I’m going to talk about two things, things today that are near and dear to my heart In this connection. One is how do we get fair courts in our states? And the other is how do we increase civics education for our young people. Now, I’ve devoted a lot of my time since I retired from the Supreme Court to promote both of these concepts. And I’m going to talk first about fair courts and a few threats to that ideal. Then I’m going to talk briefly about how civics education can minimize threats to our system.

At the heart of the ideal of fair courts in our states, is the rule of law. And under the rule of law, we expect judges to follow the law as it is, not as it should be, or how we think it should be changed or even how the public thinks it should be.

Judges have to follow what in fact is the law at that time may have to decide the issue. And fulfilling

Interview

Interview with the National Conference of State Legislatures

Interview / By

Host
Justice O’Connor, what do you think the average reader will be most surprised to learn from your new book, Out of Order: Stories from the History of the Supreme Court?

Sandra Day O’Connor
Oh, it’s hard to say. I think for one thing, people generally don’t know that for a long, a long time in the Court’s history, the justices had to ride the circuit. They had to go around the country and sit on cases. And they weren’t sitting in Washington, DC all the time as they are now. And that was extremely challenging for the justices. None of them liked it. And it was very burdensome. It went on for a long time. And I think most people are surprised to learn it.
Host
When you were when you were doing the research on this things, did you ever think, “Wow, how did this institution survive with all of the, with all of the things that went on?”
Sandra Day O’Connor
I didn’t think that it had to survive, we had to have a Supreme Court cord. But the challenges in those days were so substantial, that it made it difficult to get justices. And to get good people, you need to have a work pattern that doesn’t just kill you. And that one almost did. So I think that’s the biggest surprise for people.

Host
You told us yesterday in the opening general session that too many Americans believe that justices are politicians with black robes, and that you advocate taking politics out of judicial selection. In a culture that seems to demand instant accountability from everyone in public life

Speech

Women and Leadership

Speech / By

Sandra Day O’Connor
Now, if I say–thank you, stop piping. It takes me a little while to get around these days. So I’m a little slow. I didn’t mean for it to extend the clapping period.
It’s wonderful to be here. And I’ve enjoyed all of it. And you ended up with some pretty terrific commentary, I must say, and Bonnie Mac of vain Hunter, I hate to follow her, because she’s too good. So that was a treat to get to hear her today. And thank you, David for the kind introduction.
Those of us who are part of iCivics are very appreciative of being here and being involved here at this university. Because I think that in the weeks and months and years ahead, maybe we can really achieve some things that matter in educational field. I think we can, and I’m enthusiastic about that. And as I’ve been pointing out for a while now, I’m just an unemployed cowgirl. At the same time I’m aware of the fact that my life and my career has spanned some complex and contentious and important periods in our nation’s history. It’s certainly involved, among other things, getting women in the work world in our country. And I’ve been fortunate to witness that history and to have been part of it. And growing up on a cattle ranch in the southwest shaped so much of who and what I am, and of the values that still guide me. I think I remain a cowgirl at heart, but other chapters in my life have also helped shape my beliefs.
My experiences on the Supreme Court and since are what has driven me to my current

Interview, TV appearance

Interview with Idaho Public Television

Interview, TV appearance / By

– Hello and welcome to “dialogue. ” I’m Marcia Franklin. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan made history when he nominated an Arizona judge, Sandra Day O’Connor, to the United States Supreme Court. The U. S. Senate would go on to confirm O’Connor by a vote of 99-0, making her the first woman to serve on the nation’s highest court. In her nearly 25-year career on the court, O’Connor would cast many deciding votes in high profile cases. She, though, has always taken a rather low profile when it comes to talking about those opinions. But that doesn’t mean she isn’t busy, and recently the 83-year-old retired justice was in Idaho.
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– O’Connor was in Boise to receive an award from the Andrus Center for Public Policy, which was also hosting a conference on women and leadership. O’Connor, who grew up on a ranch in Arizona, drew comparisons between herself and Governor Andrus, who was raised in rural Oregon.

– Both Governor Andrus and I had early childhood homes without any electricity or indoor plumbing, a joy not everyone can say they had. Were it not for our careers in public service, we might just be an unemployed cowgirl or an unemployed lumberjack, who knows?

– It looked like O’Connor would also be an unemployed lawyer when she graduated from law school in 1952, because of the discrimination against women.

– When I graduated from law school, I tried very hard to find a job in my new legal profession. I was spurned time and time again because I was a woman and they weren’t going to hire a woman lawyer.

Interview, TV appearance

C-Span interview on her book, Out of Order: Stories from the History of the Supreme Court

Interview, TV appearance / By

Host: We are pleased to be joined on set outside the history and biography room by former justice of the supreme court Sandra Day O’Connor. This is her fifth book, the history of the Supreme Court, “Out of Order.” Five books. When did you discover you enjoyed writing?

Sandra Day O’Connor: nothing changed, lots of things to write about and tell about.

Host: would be doing at the book festival? You are not talking about your book.

Sandra Day O’Connor: not really. I know jim billington at the wall street — my brother has a new book out. And so Jim told me I had to bring my brother so I said I would and that is why we are here.

Host: you are in conversation with alan. Your brother. What is his book about?

Sandra Day O’Connor: for a long time he had them in North Dakota where he could take these and keep them for a while. The federal government had the responsibility for them so he did that for quite a while. It was so simple. Host: let’s talk about out of water and some of the stories year. One of the first stories you tell is former chief justice John Marshall and Thomas Jefferson were related and did not like each other.

Sandra Day O’Connor: isn’t that amazing?

Host: was the relationship?

Sandra Day O’Connor: it was amazing that they didn’t like each other and it was so difficult to manage but they did.

Host: the *Marbury v. Madison* case was during President Jefferson’s tenure. Exactly what did that case establish?

Sandra Day O’Connor: I don’t know that today we say much of anything.