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ID DATA

Sandra Day O'Connor

Supreme Court Associate Justice

In the eyes of many, she is the most powerful woman in America.

Age at Oath: 51
Senate Vote: 99-0
The first woman in history to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.
A moderate conservative on an ideologically polarized Court.

In the beginning, the public often associated Justice O'Connor with Rehnquist, since they shared common roots and values. Within a few Terms, however, O'Connor carved her own unique niche within the Court.

During her tenure on the Court, she joined the conservative bloc in carrying out what many have called the "Federalism Revolution," returning some of the power to states that the federal government took in the wake of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal and court-packing plan.

Personal Life

Sandra was born March 26, 1930 in El Paso, Texas, to Harry Alan Day and Ada Mae Wilkey, during the Great Depression. They owned the 300-square-mile Lazy-B-Cattle Ranch in southeastern Arizona, on the Gila River, 25 miles from their nearest neighbor. With the company of cowboys and several pets, including a bobcat, O'Connor grew up on harsh, western ranch life. They did not have electricity or running water until she was seven, by which time she had learned to drive. Her younger brother, H. Alan, and sister, Ann, were not born until she was eight, after she knew how to ride horses and fire rifles.

Sent to town for school.

Educational opportunities were limited around the ranch, so she was sent to live with her maternal grandmother in El Paso, where she attended Radford School, a private academy for girls, from kindergarten through high school. Despite a spell of homesickness, she graduated at sixteen with good marks. O'Connor credits her later success to her grandmother's confidence in her ability to succeed in any endeavor, and for teaching her to never admit defeat.

Fulfilling grandparents dreams by going to college.

Initially she studied economics with the intention of running her own ranch. However, a legal dispute over her family's ranch kindled an interest in law. During college at Stanford Law School, she met fellow student/future husband, John Jay O'Connor. She also knew, dated, and graduated in the same class as William H. Rehnquist, future Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Sandra married John Jay O'Connor III in 1952, but found that even though she passed the bar, firms were not interested in hiring a woman. Then, upon Mr. O'Connor's graduation in 1953, he was drafted into the Army's Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG). They lived in Frankfurt, Germany, for three years where he was stationed. After discharge, they settled in Phoenix and had three sons - Scott, Brian and Jay. Still unable to find a position with a firm, Sandra started her own law firm with a single partner, and practiced a wide variety of cases until the birth of her second child.

Full-time mom and career woman.

For five years O'Connor was a stay-at-home mom. She was involved in many volunteer activities. Her time was given to the Arizona State Hospital, Arizona State Bar, Salvation Army, various local schools, and the Arizona Republican Party. In 1965, she rejoined the workforce and started breaking her way through the glass ceiling.

Work Background

1981 Sep 25	Associate Justice, US Supreme Court, nominated by President Reagan to replace retiring Justice Potter Stewart, commissioned Sep 22 and sworn in Sep 25, 1981. Photo: President Reagan and Justice O'Connor, 1981 (40k).
1979-1981	Judge, Arizona Court of Appeals, appointed by newly elected Democratic governor.
1978	Urged by Arizona state Republican Party to run for governor, but declined.
1975-1979	Judge, Maricopa County Superior Court, ran for election and won.
1973-1974	Senate Majority Leader, Arizona State Senate.
1969-1975	State Senator; appointed in 1969 by Governor Jack Williams to fill vacant seat from a senator who resigned to accept an appointment in Washington, D.C.; successfully won two more terms in state senate - a first for any woman in the U.S.
1965-1969	Assistant Attorney General of Arizona.
1958-1960	Law practice in Maryvale, Arizona.
1957	Returned from Germany, settled in Phoenix, had three sons over the next six years. Admitted to the Arizona Bar.
1954-1957	Civilian attorney for Quartermaster Market Center, Frankfurt, Germany.
1952-1953	Deputy County Attorney of San Mateo County, California
1952	Admitted to California Bar.
1952	LL.B., graduated 3rd out of 102, from Stanford Law School, in two years instead of three; served on Stanford Law Review.
	Member of Order of the Coif, a national honor society for legal students.
1950	B.A., magna cum laude, economics, Stanford University.

Memberships & Affiliations

Alfalfa Club (Learn more.)
American Philosophical Society 1992
Order of the Coif
Salvation Army Advisory Board 1975-81
National Women's Hall of Fame