Op ed, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

O’Connor: With this nomination, Reagan has maintained the trust of the people

Op ed, The Kauffman-Henry Collection / By

No Supreme Court Justice named in the past half century even begins to rival in importance the president who made the appointment. So put aside as momentary overexcitement the spate of recent comment asserting that presidents chiefly make history by their selections for the court. Even in that perspective, however, President Reagan’s choice of Sandra Day O’Connor casts a long shadow. Not only does the president break a pattern of sex discrimination, he also delivers on a campaign promise in a way that fosters faith in the system. Finally, he shores up the court – or at least works against deterioration – by naming a judge with affinities to its shifting center as against its two extremes.

The honorific. status of the court, whatever else may be in question, does not admit doubt. The Supreme Court is the most dignified of our institutions, the holy of holies in the American system, the “ark of the national covenant.” Groups accustomed to view themselves as outsiders inevitably attach high importance to being included in. The nomination of Louis Brandeis was a milestone for American Jews, as was the designation of Thurgood Marshall for blacks. The just claim of women to a more equal role thus finds a fit cause for satisfaction in the nomination of Judge O’Connor to the highest tribunal in the . land. President Reagan, of course, did not exactly promise that he would name a woman to the court. But he did commit himself in the campaign to fill “one of the first Supreme Court vacancies”

Newspaper mention, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

O’Connor takes Oath: New Justice

Newspaper mention, The Kauffman-Henry Collection / By

WASHINGTON (AP) – Sandra Day O’Connor raised her right hand and swore the oath of office today as the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court. Vowing to “do equal right to the poor and to the rich,’ ‘ the former Arizona legislator and appeals court judge became Justice O’Connor during a brief ceremony in the marble and mahogany courtroom of the nation’s highest court. President Reagan was among the 500 guests who watched Chief Justice Warren Burger administer the oath of office. Also on hand was retired associate justice Potter Stewart, whom Mrs. O’Connor replaced. Following a court tradition, Mrs. O’Connor took two oaths, one at a private meeting of the justices and the other in the courtroom. The timing of her swearing in allows her to participate in the week-long conference the justices will start Monday in anticipation of the Oct. 5 opening of the court’s 1981-82 term. Reagan broke a 191-year, all-male tradition when he appointed Mrs . O’Connor to the lifetime job.

Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

O’Connor surprises as high court candidate

Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection / By

WASHINGTON (AP) – Judge Sandra D. O’Connor of the Arizona Court of Appeals has emerged as a leading candidate to succeed Justice Potter Stewart on the U.S. Supreme Court, the Washington Post reported today. “She hasn’t been chosen yet. but she’s close,” the newspaper quoted one unnamed Reagan administration source as saying. The Post said Mrs. O’Connor, 51, was interviewed for the vacancy by an administration official and was believed to be the only potential nominee to be interviewed. In another development, the New York Daily News quoted Reagan administration sources in today’s editions as saying that U.S. District Judge Lawrence W. Pierce, a 56-year-old black. is also being considered for the high-court seat. Administration officials said Mrs. O’Connor is on a “short list” of leading candidates – most of them women – for Stewart’s seat, which becomes vacant when he retires Friday, according to The Post. During his campaign last year. President Reagan said he wanted to name a woman to one of the first vacancies on the nine-member court. The White House, however, has kept open the possibility that a man could be named to succeed Stewart. Until now, one of the women mentioned most often as Stewart’s likely successor has been Cornelia Kennedy of Detroit, a member of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Post said Mrs. O’Connor has support from both of Arizona’s senators, Republican Barry Goldwater and Democrat Dennis DeConcini, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

O’Connor supports capital punishment

Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection / By

WASHINGTON (AP)-Sandra Day O’Connor, in the second round of Senate committee questioning on her Supreme Court nomination, said today she personally favors the death penalty and opposes mandatory school busing. In a tense exchange with Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, she also asserted that President Reagan had not asked for any commitments in exchange for the nomination. “I was not asked to make any commitments . . . about what I would do or how I would resolve any issue to come before the court,” she told the Senate Judiciary Committee. THE CONSERVATIVE Grassley twice asked her to say that she had not been asked for any commitments. She said she feels school busing to achieve integration can be “disruptive” to children, citing her own long treks to school when she was a child. “I just think that isn’t a system that often is terribly beneficial to the child,” she said of school busing. She also noted that during her tenure in the Arizona Senate she voted for a resolution urging action “at the federal level” that would “terminate the use of forced busing in desegregation cases.” Mrs. O’Connor also said that while in the state Senate she had voted in favor of a death penalty bill. “I felt that it was an appropriate vote then, and I have not changed my views,” she told Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa. She helped draft the bill to respond to the Supreme Court decision striking down death penalty laws in many states. THE 51-YEAR-OLD Arizona appeals court judge also strongly defended her

Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

O’Connor stresses personal views, denies any promises on court votes

Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection / By

Washington-Supreme Court nominee Sandra Day O’Connor told senators yesterday she had not made any promises to President Reagan about how she would vote as a justice. Judge O’Connor expressed strongly conservative views on a wide range of social issues, but she continued to say her personal views were beside the point. The Arizona Judge spent a second five-hour day before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and appeared close to winning over the few remaining skeptics on that panel. Senator Charles Grassley (R, Iowa), who had appeared to be a potential opponent, told her near the end of the session that he was having to struggle to find reasons to vote no when the committee votes on her nomination, probably next Tuesday. He even suggested that he might see her be!ore the committee again, for promotion to the chief justiceship. For now, she has been nominated only to be one of the eight associate justices. Another skeptic, Senator Jeremiah A. Denton (R, Ala.), told her that his review of her personal life had shown her to be “pretty much an ideal woman.” Mr. Denton apparently will be the last senator to question Judge O’Connor. He has a final 15-minute round scheduled before s~e is finished as a witness today. The committee plans to end its hearings by early afternoon. Only one potential challenger, Senator John East (R, N.C.), seemed reluctant to embrace her nomination openly yesterday. He told her of his frustration that she would not discuss the controversial Supreme Court ruling

Newspaper mention, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

O’Connor’s job to be filled

Newspaper mention, The Kauffman-Henry Collection / By

PHOENIX (AP) – Applications will be accepted until Oct. 30 for persons wishing to fill the Arizona Court of Appeals vacancy created by the resignation of Sandra O’Connor.

Appeals Court Chief Judge Lawrence Wren said Wednesday the state’s judicial selection committee for appeals courts will forward between three and 10 names to Gov. Bruce Babbitt.

Mrs. O’Connor resigned Tuesday, the day after the Senate voted 99-0 to confirm her appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

O’Connor Sees Lower Court Reform Needs. Justice Urges Action

Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection / By

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor said today the time has come for Arizona “to buckle down and achieve a thorough reform1 ‘ of its lower court system. “Arizona has studied this problem long enough,” Justice O’Connor told an audience of about 400 at a conference on “Arizona’s Pe()ples Courts: Proposals for Improvement,” at the Arizona State University College of Law. SHE SAID the current judicial system creates “overlapping jurisdiction, duplication, disparity in workloads and cash-register justice.” Justice O’Connor, an Arizona appeals court judge before being named by President Reagan to the Supreme Court, was introduced by ASU law professor Willard Pedrick as the “Jackie Robinson” of the high court. Quoting Thomas Jefferson, she said, “Laws and institutions must change to keep pace with changing times.” She traced the history of court reform proposals back to 1906 and outlined successful court unification schemes in Kentucxky, Connecticut and Wisconsin. According to Justice O’Connor, any reform of municipal and justice courts should include: • A mechanism to remove incompetent judges at the local level. • Central court management and administration. “We need to reassign judges, relieve congestion and provide for central recordkeeping,” she said. • State financing of local courts. “People tum to courts when all else fails,” Justice O’Connor told the group, which was dotted with state Supreme Court justices, lawmakers and ASU law students. “Unfortunately they also

Editorial, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

O’Connor: Leanings won’t affect decision

Editorial, The Kauffman-Henry Collection / By

WASHINGTON – Sandra O’Connor testified Wednesday that her leanings against abortion would not affect her decisions on the U.S. Supreme Court. “My personal views and beliefs in this area and in other areas have no place in the resolution of any legal issues that will come before the court,” the 51-year-old Paradise Valley resident told the Senate Judiciary Committee. “I think these are matters that of necessity a judge must attempt to set aside in resolving the cases to come before the court.” Cheerfully answering questions from most senators and cautiously dodging touchy questions from a few, she sailed calmly through the first day of hearings on her nomination by President Reagan to be the first woman on the nation’s highest court. Confirmation by the fuil Senate of the Arizona Court of Appeals judge, who received overwhelming support from Arizona’s congressional delegation and the Legislature, including pro-choice and pro-life activists, is expected as early as next Tuesday. From 50 to 250 anti-abortion and fundamentalist Christian pickets opposed to her nomination clustered sporadically outside the Dirksen Senate Building. Lines of people eager to see history in the making waited in the hall for a chance to sit for a few minutes in the few spectator seats not reserved for personal guests of the senators. O’Connor, who had practiced her answers for long hours with White House and Justice Department employees, repeatedly rebuffed attempts by conservative senators to get her

Newspaper mention, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

O’Connor is overcoming the dispute over abortion

Newspaper mention, The Kauffman-Henry Collection / By

WASHINGTON (AP) – Supreme Court nominee Sandra Day O’Co,inor is emerging from three days of Senate confirmation hearings the apparent victor in a showdown with anti-abortionists opposed to her. On the final day of the hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mrs. O’Connor received bipartisan pledges to resist anti-aborti on pressures in confirmation votes expected next week. “I find something un-American about saying anyone could be judged on one issue alone,” Sen. Howard Metzenbaum, DOhio, said Friday. “It (abortion) will not be deter• minatlve for the Senate,” Metzenbaum told two prominent anti-abortion witnesses who claim that in the past Mrs. O’Connor has favored abortion. Mrs. O’Connor says she abhors abortion but that her personal views would not affect her court decisions. Sen. Robert Dole told the same two anti-abortion witnesses he did not think a nominee should have to “repudiate” the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision, which legalized abortion, to gain confirmation.

Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection

O’Connor Grilled on Abortion

Newspaper article, The Kauffman-Henry Collection / By

WASHINGTON (AP) – Supreme Court nominee Sandra Day O’Connor said today she thinks teen-age girls should consult with their parents before seeking abortions, but refused to endorse mandatory parental consent. “It is my personal view that I would want the child to consult the parents,” Mrs. O’Connor said as she completed her part in the confirmation hearings. Asked by reporters as she left the hearing room for her assessment of the proceedings and her confirmation chances, Mrs. O’Connor replied, “I hope OK.” Her comment on parental consent came during a tense and prolonged question-and-answer session with conservative Sen. Jeremiah Denton, R-Ala., who previously had pressed Mrs . O’Connor for her personal and legal views on abortion. Denton was cut short by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., when Denton tried to quiz Mrs. O’Connor about what President Reagan knew about her abortion views before selecting her as the first woman on the court. “The subject we are considering here is her fitness for the position for which the president selected her,” Thurmond told Denton. How she was selected, he said, “is his business, not ours.” Denton originally was allotted 15 minutes to pose his questions, but was given an additional 45 minutes by Thurmond. They apparently did not help. Saying he felt frustrated because he could not determine “where you’re coming from philosophically” on abortion, Denton said , “I feel quite frustrated that these matters have not been