Sandra Day O’Connor Dies: First Female Supreme Court Justice Was 93

Ted Johnson
·2 min read
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Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, has died. She was 93.

In an announcement on Friday morning, the court said that she died in Phoenix, AZ of complications related to advanced dementia, probably Alzheimers, and a respiratory illness.

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O’Connor was nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and, although she was appointed by a conservative, she was an important swing vote on the high court by the time she retired in 2006.

Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement, “A daughter of the American Southwest, Sandra Day O’Connor blazed an historic trail as our nation’s first female justice. She met that challenge with undaunted determination, indisputable ability and engaging candor.”

O’Connor sided with the court’s conservative wing on a number of landmark decisions, perhaps most prominently in the 2000 decision that ended the Florida vote recount, effectively affirming George W. Bush’s win of the presidency over Al Gore. But she also sided with the liberal wing on issues including affirmative action and abortion. In a 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood vs. Casey, O’Connor led the majority in a decision that largely upheld Roe vs. Wade and retained the constitutional right to an abortion. Roe vs. Wade ultimately was overturned in 2022, when conservatives had gained a commanding majority on the high court.

Per the AP, O’Connor summarized the 1992 ruling in court, “Some of us as individuals find abortion offensive to our most basic principles of morality, but that can’t control our decision. Our obligation is to define the liberty of all, not to mandate our own moral code.”

She was the only woman justice on the court until 1993, when Ruth Bader Ginsburg was confirmed. There are now four female justices on the high court.

Born in El Paso, TX on March 26, 1930, O’Connor grew up on a cattle ranch, something that she recounted in a 2002 book, and a background that she credited with giving her an independent spirit.

After a career in the Arizona State Senate, including a tenure as majority leader. O’Connor was elected judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court in 1975 and served until 1979, when she was appointed to the state Court of Appeals.

After her retirement, O’Connor remained in the public eye, often to continue her advocacy for civic education, founding iCivics, an education platform. She also authored a final book, Out of Order: Stories from the History of the Supreme Court, in 2013.

O’Connor is survived by three sons — Scott, Brian and Jay — along with six grandchildren and her brother, Alan Day Sr. Her husbamd, John O’Connor, died in 2009.

More to come.

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