Newspaper article, Op ed

“Civics and Citizens”

Newspaper article, Op ed / By

A survey conducted by the National Constitution Center recently revealed that fewer American teenagers could identify the three branches of government than could identify the Three Stooges.

While I enjoy Larry, Moe and Curly as much as anyone, there is nothing amusing about such statistics, because they reveal an absence of even the most basic knowledge about our governmental structure. Unless we do something to arrest this disturbing trend, I fear that the joke will be on all of us.

This trend is disturbing, because only an educated citizenry can ensure that our Nation’s commitment to liberty is upheld and the promise of Constitution fulfilled. A thorough civic education creates citizens who have a strong grasp of the fundamental processes of American democracy, an understanding of community issues and the ability to discuss those issues with one another and with leaders of the community.

The Framers of the United States Constitution understood the document that they created to be predicated on the involvement of educated citizens. If we fail to educate young people to become active and informed participants in our democracy, there is no question that our democracy will suffer. Such a failure would betray the trust bestowed upon us by the Constitution’s Framers.

The problem of civic illiteracy, as I have come to call it, is a relatively new phenomenon. Unlike some of the issues that ail society, however, the root cause of civic illiteracy is far from mysterious: We simply

Law review article

“William Howard Taft and the Importance of Unanimity”

Law review article / By

William Howard Taft and the Importance of Unanimity∗

This Term, the Historical Society has put on a wonderful series about the man who is widely—and rightly—regarded as this Court’s greatest Chief Justice. Through his recognition of the right of judicial review, John Marshall secured for this Court a role in shaping the nation’s most important principles: racial equality, individual liberty, the meaning of democracy, and so many others.

Learning more about John Marshall this Term has caused me to think about another great Chief Justice, who perhaps deserves almost as much credit as Marshall for the Court’s modern-day role, but does not often receive the recognition: William Howard Taft. Taft, of course, was remarkable even before he became Chief Justice—but even the presidency did not hold as much charm for Taft as did his eventual position on the Court. Mrs. Taft noted in her memoirs that “[N]ever did he cease to regard a Supreme Court appointment as vastly more desirable than the Presidency.”1

Mrs. Taft, however, disagreed. She loved being First Lady, and was a good one, at that. She was responsible for bringing the cherry blossoms to Washington, a feat for which I am particularly grateful. She also made a bit of history on March 4, 1909 by becoming the first First Lady to accompany her husband from the Capitol to the White House on Inauguration Day.2 She was a difficult woman to refuse.

Taft, on the other hand, was an unpopular President. His bid for re-election was

Speech

William French Smith Lecture at Pepperdine University

Speech / By

Sandra Day O’Connor I have to tell one little story, though, about William French Smith, a man– Ken Starr This is your conversation. Sandra Day O’Connor But you weren’t quite finished, Ken Starr Please. Sandra Day O’Connor When I got out of Stanford Law School, it was back in the middle of the last century, long before any of your students had been born. This is why I got out of law school in 1952. And there were all these notices on the placement bulletin board at the law school Stanford Law graduates call our law firm, we want to talk to you. Well, I called every one on the bulletin. board, and not one of them would give me an interview. Not one. Well, I knew a young woman at Stanford as an undergrad, whose father was it gives them down on cracker. He was one of the warriors. And I said, talk to your dad, see if he’ll get me an interview with Gibson Dunn. And she did. And he did. And I made the trip down to Gibson Dunn on crusher in Los Angeles, and met with this distinguished looking lawyer and we talked to me, Oh Miss Day, you have a fine resume here to stay. But Miss Day, this firm has never hired a woman lawyer. And I do not see that time when we will. Our clients would not stand for it. Well, I looked sort of stricken, I’m sure. So he said, well, Miss Day, how well do you type? And I said, well, so so and he said if you can type well enough, we might be able to get you on here as a legal secretary. But I declined that opportunity. I must say that I was home in Arizona

Law review article, Speech

Vindicating the Rule of Law: The Role of the Judiciary

Law review article, Speech / By

The last two decades have witnessed a remarkable transformation in China’s legal system. Formal legislation has built a framework for commercial activity and economic investment. Other legislation has helped put in place the necessary infrastructure for a market economy, including the regulation of basic industries and the protection of intellectual property rights. A series of legal reforms has led to a reconstruction of China’s judicial system, and courts have increasingly become forums in which rights created by legislation are vindicated. Animating all of these exciting developments is a commitment to the Rule of Law as a fundamental means of assuring basic justice for citizens and foreigners alike.

Broadly speaking, the Rule of Law requires that legal rules be publicly known, consistently enforced, and even-handedly applied. Aristotle believed the Rule of Law to be “nothing less than the rule of reason,” balanced by considerations of equity so that just results may be achieved in particular cases.• Various approaches can be taken to securing the Rule of Law, and there is no right answer as to which way is best. One thing seems clear, though, and that is the importance of a strong judiciary in achieving and maintaining the Rule of Law. As Woodrow Wilson wrote, government “keeps its promises, or does not keep them, in its courts. For the individual, therefore, who stands at the centre of every definition of liberty, the struggle for constitutional government is a struggle

Law review article, Speech

They Often Are Half Obscure: The Rights of the Individual and the Legacy of Oliver W. Holmes

Law review article, Speech / By

They Often Are Half Obscure: The Rights of the Individual and the Legacy of Oliver W. Holmes

SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR*

These remarks were delivered April 9, 1992 at the Nathaniel L. Nathanson Memorial Lecture series at the University of San Diego and are published here with only minor revisions. The usual academic ornamentation by way of footnotes has been added to enable interested persons to find the sources referred to in the lecture.

Most of us like to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries. I am no exception, and today it is my purpose to celebrate and note an important anniversary. It is sixty years since one of my predecessors, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, retired from his duties at the Supreme Court. His life and his work have been celebrated often and with good reason. Let me explain why.

Many believe that one of the most significant contributions made by Western legal doctrine is the concept of enlisting the judiciary as a partner in drawing the line between the individual and the power of the state. Justice Holmes was the chief architect of the application of our Bill of Rights to the states, and he set the standards for constitutional decision making. He used his incredible intellect to lay bare the policy choices in constitutional cases. He taught us that “the life of the law has not been logic: it has been experience” 1 and that the Constitution “does not enact Mr. Herbert Spencer’s Social Statics.” 2

In 1901, a year before he took his seat on the Supreme Court

Law review article

The Role of Technology in the Legal Profession

Law review article / By

I entered the legal profession in 1952. Though I have watched with great excitement the technological improvements that have happened since then, I’ve watched with great sadness the decline in the esteem in which society holds the legal system and the legal profession. And at the same time, I have watched with some concern the decline in collegiality and overall happiness I have seen among fellow lawyers.

I am sure all of you have heard the complaints: Our legal system is inaccessible to most except the wealthy; even relatively prosperous people and businesses are often nearly bankrupted by litigation; lawyers too often disserve their clients with shoddy work; lawyers are by and large unhappy people, crushed by an unreasonable work load and unable to maintain both a successful work life and happy family life. These criticisms are by no means universally true. But there’s enough truth in them that we should take them very seriously.

I think-I hope-that technology, creatively applied technology, can help us solve this problem. It certainly can’t solve it by itself. It can’t make litigation free or even very cheap; it can’t make a foolish lawyer into a sensible one; it can’t reform an unprincipled or rude or unethical adversary. But it can help.

Historically, the surest way to greater productivity has been technology. All of us have already adopted much labor-saving-and therefore money-saving-technology. From PC’s to voice-mail systems to faxes to car phones. But there are other

Law review article, Speech

The Life of the Law: Principles of Logic and Experience from the United States

Law review article, Speech / By

ADDRESS

THE LIFE OF THE LAW: PRINCIPLES OF LOGIC AND EXPERIENCE

FROM THE UNITED STATES THE FAIRCHILD LECTURE*

THE HONORABLE SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR..

These are times of tremendous change in governments across the world. Since the mid-1980s, a remarkable number of countries in Latin America, Africa, and the Soviet bloc have turned from dictatorship to elected civilian government. In several visits to Eastern Europe, I have been impressed by the strides taken by these countries toward their goals of liberty and democracy. But if they are to retain and build on their recent gains, the new governments must put into place a framework that can ensure the survival of basic freedoms. Of course, such a framework must be adapted to the political and cultural history of each country. Already, we see the post-communist countries begin to differ significantly in their political, constitutional, and social development. Despite the important differences among nations, and forms of governments, however, some basic principles must be enforced if a government is to ensure the liberty of its citizens.

Since emerging from the grip of the Soviet Union, developing nations of Eastern Europe have looked to Western ideas about economic structure, the relationship among branches of government, and the relationship of the individual to the community for guidance in designing their own institutions and processes. Tonight I would like to discuss certain aspects of our governmental scheme that have been

Law review article, Speech

The Legal Status of Women: The Journey Toward Equality

Law review article, Speech / By

Sandra Day O’Connor And welcome to all of you. I wish we had more space. But people like sometimes to visit the Supreme Court, and I feel very privileged that I could participate in this meeting today and sponsor the availability of these rooms for that purpose today. And you’re all most welcome here. And ambassador, maj to Ben, this is Laura and my fellow panelists here and distinguished guests.

It gives me great pleasure to be here today and to give remarks on a subject in which I take considerable interest, the legal and social status of women. I would like to thank Ambassador Mejdoub, the Hannibal Club, and the President’s Interagency Council on Women for providing this forum to discuss and promote women’s issues.

Women from all countries have much to share with each other about their own cultures, experiences, successes, and failures. Today, as always, women are the primary caregivers worldwide. We bear and nurture the children, and we manage the household for our families. But we also work outside the home. We want and expect to have equal opportunities in business, in the professions, and in public service. We want and expect to be paid as much as men for the same work. While women have made tremendous advances in this century, the process of achieving gender equality is still an ongoing one, in this country and throughout the world. In many respects, we have traveled far, although we have a way yet to go. We remember the old adage that “[t]he test of every civilization

Speech

Speech to the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship

Speech / By

Sandra Day O’Connor That was a wonderful introduction. I don’t know how Natalie got all that information. But she really did some research and made it fun. I don’t have a magic wand to wave. I’m here this morning really chat very informally with you about this business of being a cancer survivor. It’s been six years since I underwent surgery for breast cancer. The impact of diagnosis of cancer at that I received is is one which has not been far from my thoughts at any time during these six years. But as Natalie told you, this is the first time that I have spoken publicly about my experience. And I’m not sure that my experience is any different than anyone elses. In fact, I’m quite sure it isn’t. So what I have to say this morning, for those of you who are here, as survivors, or friends or relations of survivors is going to sound hauntingly familiar. I suspect, Dr. Mark Lippmann invited took me to come here today. And he was a tremendous help to me in the period after I was diagnosed as having cancer. And I’ve continued to see him from time to time at various events, and have been most impressed with the work that he has done to further research into the type of cancer that I had.

You’re gathered here today, not just as people concerned with breast cancer about all types of cancer, and to discuss all aspects of a cancer survivorship, the effects on the patients on their families, the health care professionals that take care of them, and in the community in which they live.

Speech

Speech to the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools

Speech / By

Host So join me in welcoming the honorable Sandra Day O’Connor. Sandra Day O’Connor Come on. No, no. No. I agreed to be part of this Voluntary Group, as a part of the Advisory Council for this effort, because of my absolute conviction that we have to educate all of our young people on how democracies function. What do we mean when we talk about rule of law? How do citizens have the capacity? And do they have a duty to protect? The pay and how to do it? If we don’t do this, it won’t take more than three or four years before we will have created such a gap in the capacity and willingness of our citizens to be good citizens, that our country will take a major decline. There is no question that we have to do precisely the activity that this effort is all about. We have to teach every succeeding generation of young people what it is ourselves. system of government consists of our works, how they can be part of it, and why they should be part of it.

Now, it isn’t easy to do this. My co-honorary chair here, Governor Romer, runs about the second largest school district in the country. And he knows exactly what the problems are. But you see, this knowledge about how we function in this country isn’t handed down through the gene pool. Every generation has to learn it. And we who are older have to be responsible for teaching. I mean, it’s that simple. But you have to teach it in ways that will engage the students. We have maybe a more sophisticated student group and in my day, where