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{{Short description|American lawyer, politician and judge (1930–2023)}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image         = Sandra Day O'Connor.jpg
| caption       = Official portrait, {{circa|2002}}
| office        = [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States]]
| nominator     = [[Ronald Reagan]]
| term_start    = September 25, 1981
| term_end      = January 31, 2006<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/biographies.aspx#SOConnor |title=Current Members |website=supremecourt.gov|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206002438/https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/biographies.aspx|archive-date=February 6, 2020|access-date=February 17, 2020}}</ref><ref>"The date a Member of the Court took his/her Judicial oath (the Judiciary Act provided 'That the Justices of the Supreme Court, and the district judges, before they proceed to execute the duties of their respective offices, shall take the following oath ...') is here used as the date of the beginning of his/her service, for until that oath is taken he/she is not vested with the prerogatives of the office." Source: [https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/members_text.aspx About the Court > Justices > Justices 1789 to Present];{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100415034624/https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/members_text.aspx |date=April 15, 2010 }}</ref>
| predecessor   = [[Potter Stewart]]
| successor     = [[Samuel Alito]]
| office2       = Judge of the [[Arizona Court of Appeals]] {{awrap|for Division One}}
| nominator2    = [[Bruce Babbitt]]
| term_start2   = December 14, 1979
| term_end2     = September 25, 1981
| predecessor2  = [[Mary Schroeder]]
| successor2    = [[Sarah D. Grant]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.azcourts.gov/coa1/Former-Judges |title=Retired Judges |access-date=February 20, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160212162439/http://www.azcourts.gov/coa1/Former-Judges |archive-date=February 12, 2016}}</ref>
| office3       = Judge of the [[Maricopa County]] Superior Court for Division 31
| term_start3   = January 9, 1975
| term_end3     = December 14, 1979
| predecessor3  = David Perry
| successor3    = Cecil Patterson<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/LawLibrary/docs/PDF/Judges/SuperiorCourtJudgesrev4.pdf |title=Judges of the Superior Court Of Arizona in Maricopa County |date=November 2005 |website=ww.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov |access-date=May 26, 2017 |archive-date=October 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026075628/https://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/LawLibrary/docs/PDF/Judges/SuperiorCourtJudgesrev4.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>
| state_senate4 = Arizona
| term_start4   = October 30, 1969
| term_end4     = January 13, 1975
| predecessor4  = [[Isabel Burgess]]
| successor4    = [[John C. Pritzlaff Jr.|John Pritzlaff]]
| constituency4 = [[Arizona's 8th legislative district|8-E district]] (1969–1971)<br>[[Arizona's 20th legislative district|20th district]] (1971–1973)<br>[[Arizona's 24th legislative district|24th district]] (1973–1975)
| office5       = 23rd [[Chancellor of the College of William & Mary|Chancellor of the College of William and Mary]]
| president5    = [[Gene Nichol]]<br />[[W. Taylor Reveley III|Taylor Reveley]]
| term_start5   = October 1, 2005
| term_end5     = February 3, 2012
| predecessor5  = [[Henry Kissinger]]
| successor5    = [[Robert Gates]]
| birth_name    = Sandra Day
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1930|3|26}}
| birth_place   = [[El Paso, Texas]], U.S.
| death_date    = {{death date and age|2023|12|1|1930|3|26}}
| death_place   = [[Phoenix, Arizona]], U.S.
| party         = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| spouse        = {{marriage|[[John Jay O'Connor]]|1952|2009|reason=died}}
| children      = 3
| relatives     = [[Ann Day]] (sister)
| education     = [[Stanford University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[LLB]])
| signature     = Oconnorsig.svg
| known_for     = First female U.S. Supreme Court justice
| awards        = [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] (2009)
| module        = {{Listen voice|filename=Sandra Day O'Connor delivers the opinion of the Court in Wiggins v. Smith.ogg|description=Sandra Day O'Connor delivers the opinion of the Court in ''[[Wiggins v. Smith]]''|recorded=June 26, 2003}}
}}

'''Sandra Day O'Connor''' (March 26, 1930 – December 1, 2023) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as an [[associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States]] from 1981 to 2006. Nominated by President [[Ronald Reagan]], O'Connor was the first woman to serve as a U.S. Supreme Court justice.<ref name="Weisman-1981">{{cite news |last=Weisman |first=Steven R. |date=July 7, 1981 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0707.html |title=Reagan Nominating Woman, an Arizona Appeals Judge, to Serve on Supreme Court |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=September 10, 2009 |archive-date=October 11, 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001011030850/https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0707.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=May 11, 2023 |title=Sandra Day O'Connor {{!}} Biography, Accomplishments, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sandra-Day-OConnor |access-date=May 22, 2023 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |language=en |archive-date=June 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629115240/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sandra-Day-OConnor |url-status=live }}</ref> A [[moderate conservative]], she was considered a [[swing vote]]. Before O'Connor's tenure on the Court, she was an [[Courts of Arizona|Arizona state judge]] and earlier an elected legislator in [[Arizona]], serving as the first female majority leader of a state senate as the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] leader in the [[Arizona Senate]].<ref name="O'Connor">{{cite news|title=O'Connor, Sandra Day |publisher=[[Federal Judicial Center]] |url=http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetInfo?jid=1796 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040306042155/http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetInfo?jid=1796 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 6, 2004 |access-date=March 21, 2006 }}</ref> Upon her nomination to the Court, O'Connor was confirmed unanimously by the [[United States Senate]].

O'Connor usually sided with the Court's conservative bloc but on occasion sided with the Court's liberal members. She often wrote [[concurring opinion]]s that sought to limit the reach of the majority holding. Her [[majority opinion]]s in landmark cases include ''[[Grutter v. Bollinger]]'' and ''[[Hamdi v. Rumsfeld]]''. In 2000, she wrote in part the ''[[per curiam]]'' majority opinion in ''[[Bush v. Gore]]'' and in 1992 was one of three co-authors of the lead opinion in ''[[Planned Parenthood v. Casey]]'' that preserved legal access to [[abortion in the United States]]. On July 1, 2005, O'Connor announced her retirement, effective upon the confirmation of a successor.<ref>{{cite news |last=Stevenson |first=R. W. |date=July 1, 2005 |title=O'Connor, First Woman Supreme Court Justice, Resigns After 24 Years |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/01/politics/01cnd-oconnor.html |url-status=live |access-date=September 10, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501221142/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/01/politics/01cnd-oconnor.html |archive-date=May 1, 2011}}</ref> At the time of her death, O'Connor was the last living member of the [[Burger Court]]. [[Samuel Alito Supreme Court nomination|Samuel Alito was nominated]] to take her seat in October 2005, and joined the Supreme Court on January 31, 2006.

During her term on the Court, O'Connor was regarded as among the most powerful women in the world.<ref>{{Cite news |first=John |last=McCaslin |title=Power Women |url=http://www.townhall.com/columnists/JohnMcCaslin/2001/11/07/mccaslins_beltway_beat |work=McCaslin's Beltway Beat |publisher=[[Townhall.com]] |location=Washington, D.C. |date=November 7, 2001 |access-date=June 15, 2009 |quote=... ''[[Ladies' Home Journal]]'', ... ranks the 30 Most Powerful Women based on cultural clout, financial impact, achievement, visibility, influence, intellect, political know-how and staying power. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton ranks 5th on the list behind Miss Winfrey, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Martha Stewart and Barbara Walters |archive-date=April 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429085608/http://townhall.com/columnists/johnmccaslin/2001/11/07/mccaslins_beltway_beat |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/2004/08/18/04powomland.htmll|title=The World's Most Powerful Women|date=August 20, 2004|work=[[Forbes]]|access-date=March 4, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090315222213/http://www.forbes.com/2004/08/18/04powomland.htmll|archive-date=March 15, 2009 }}</ref> After retiring, she succeeded [[Henry Kissinger]] as the [[chancellor of the College of William & Mary]]. In 2009, she was awarded the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] by President [[Barack Obama]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Presidential Medal of Freedom|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/presidential-medal-of-freedom/|access-date=February 11, 2021|publisher=CBS News|date=August 12, 2009 |language=en|archive-date=April 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409225457/https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/presidential-medal-of-freedom/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
{{external media| float = left| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?168338-1/lazy-b-growing-cattle-ranch ''Booknotes'' interview with O'Connor on ''Lazy B: Growing Up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest'', January 27, 2002], [[C-SPAN]]}}
Sandra Day was born on March 26, 1930, in [[El Paso, Texas]], the daughter of Harry Alfred Day, a [[ranch]]er, and Ada Mae (Wilkey).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Murray |first1=Ashley |title=Sandra Day O'Connor, who made history as the first woman on the Supreme Court, dies at 93 |date=December 2023 |url=https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2023/12/01/sandra-day-oconnor-who-made-history-as-the-first-woman-on-the-supreme-court-dies-at-93/ |work=[[Oregon Capital Chronicle]] |access-date=December 2, 2023 |archive-date=December 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207112805/https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2023/12/01/sandra-day-oconnor-who-made-history-as-the-first-woman-on-the-supreme-court-dies-at-93/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.cnn.com/2013/01/30/us/sandra-day-oconnor-fast-facts/index.html|title = Sandra Day O'Connor Fast Facts|date = December 1, 2023|access-date = December 1, 2023|publisher = [[CNN]]|archive-date = May 19, 2023|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230519025657/https://www.cnn.com/2013/01/30/us/sandra-day-oconnor-fast-facts/index.html|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>See {{cite web |url=https://www.oyez.org/justices/sandra_day_oconnor |title=Sandra Day O'Connor |website=Oyez |access-date=June 27, 2017 |archive-date=March 17, 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070317202723/https://www.oyez.org/justices/sandra_day_oconnor |url-status=live }}</ref> She grew up on a 198,000-acre family [[cattle ranch]] near [[Duncan, Arizona]]<ref name="Book Discussion on Sisters in Law" /> and in El Paso, where she attended school. Her home was nine miles from the nearest paved road.<ref name="Heilpern-2013">{{cite news|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2013/04/sandra-day-oconnor-guns-assault-weapons|title=Sandra Day O'Connor on Growing Up with Guns and Her Views on Assault Weapons|last=Heilpern|first=John|date=April 2013|work=The Hive|access-date=August 24, 2017|language=en|archive-date=September 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923025143/http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2013/04/sandra-day-oconnor-guns-assault-weapons|url-status=live}}</ref> It lacked running water or electricity until Sandra was seven years old.<ref name="Kamen-1989">{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/03/29/how-sandra-day-oconnor-became-the-most-powerful-woman-in-1980s-america/|title=How Sandra Day O'Connor became the most powerful woman in 1980s America|last1=Kamen|first1=Al|last2=Williams|first2=Marjorie|date=June 11, 1989|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=October 29, 2017|archive-date=March 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160330063935/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/03/29/how-sandra-day-oconnor-became-the-most-powerful-woman-in-1980s-america/|url-status=live}}</ref> As a  [[cowgirl]] she owned a .22-caliber rifle and would shoot [[coyotes]] and [[jackrabbits]].<ref name="Heilpern-2013" /> She began driving as soon as she could see over the dashboard and had to learn to change flat tires herself.<ref name="Book Discussion on Sisters in Law">"Book Discussion on ''Sisters in Law''{{-"}} Presenter: Linda Hirshman, author. Politics and Prose Bookstore. BookTV, Washington. September 3, 2015. 13 minutes in. Retrieved September 12, 2015 [http://www.c-span.org/video/?327947-1/linda-hirshman-sisters-law C-Span website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305042720/http://www.c-span.org/video/?327947-1%2Flinda-hirshman-sisters-law |date=March 5, 2016 }}</ref><ref name="Heilpern-2013" /> Sandra had two younger siblings, a sister and a brother, respectively eight and ten years her junior.<ref name="Kamen-1989" /> Her sister [[Ann Day]] was a member of the [[Arizona Legislature]] from 1990 to 2000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kvoa.com/story/31916809/ann-day-dies-at-the-age-of-77|title=Former Pima County Supervisor Ann Day dies at the age of 77 |author=<!-- credited to staff --> |access-date=May 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509113130/http://www.kvoa.com/story/31916809/ann-day-dies-at-the-age-of-77|archive-date=May 9, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Her brother was H. Alan Day, a lifelong rancher, with whom she wrote ''Lazy B: Growing up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest'' (2002), about their childhood experiences on the ranch.<ref name="PW Lazy B">{{cite news |title=LAZY B: Growing Up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780375507243 |access-date=December 1, 2023 |work=Publishers Weekly |date=December 10, 2001 |archive-date=January 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128122449/https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780375507243 |url-status=live }}</ref> For most of her early schooling, Day lived in El Paso with her maternal grandmother.<ref name="Kamen-1989" /> She went to the Radford School for Girls, a private school,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/history/blogs/tales-from-the-morgue/2008/07/11/radfords-most-famous-alum/31477437/|title=Radford's most famous alumna drops in for a talk|last=Scanlon|first=Michael|date=May 13, 1987|website=El Paso Times|language=en|access-date=January 8, 2020|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151021/https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/history/blogs/tales-from-the-morgue/2008/07/11/radfords-most-famous-alum/31477437/|url-status=live}}</ref> because the family ranch was far from schools. Day was able to return to the ranch for holidays and the summer.<ref name="Kamen-1989" /> Day did spend her eighth-grade year living at the ranch and riding a bus 32 miles to school.<ref name="Kamen-1989" /> She graduated sixth in her class at [[Austin High School (El Paso, Texas)|Austin High School]] in [[El Paso]] in 1946.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://elpasotimes.typepad.com/morgue/2008/07/hometown-star-4.html |title=Hometown stars&nbsp;– Sandra Day O'Connor |date=July 2, 2005 |first=Diana |last=Washington Valdez |work=El Paso Times |access-date=December 19, 2010 |archive-date=April 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100425041934/http://elpasotimes.typepad.com/morgue/2008/07/hometown-star-4.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Accepted into [[Stanford University]] at age 16, O'Connor earned a [[B.A.]] in economics in 1950, graduating ''[[magna cum laude]]''. Inspired by Professor Harry Rathbun, she pursued a law degree at [[Stanford Law School]], graduating near the top of her class in 1952.<ref name="Thomas-2019">{{Cite book|last=Thomas|first=Evan|title=First: Sandra Day O'Connor|publisher=Random House|year=2019|isbn=978-0399589287|location=New York}}</ref><ref name="Cool-2006">{{Cite web |last=Cool |first=Kevin |date=January 1, 2006 |title=Front and Center |url=https://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/magazine/article/?article_id=33312 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130503063118/https://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/magazine/article/?article_id=33312 |archive-date=May 3, 2013 |access-date=June 4, 2018 |website=Stanford Alumni Magazine |publisher=[[Stanford University]]}}</ref> While attending, she served on the ''[[Stanford Law Review]]'' whose then presiding editor-in-chief was future [[Chief Justice of the United States|Supreme Court chief justice]] [[William Rehnquist]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,161325,00.html |publisher=Fox News |title=Transcript: O'Connor on Fox |date=July 1, 2005 |access-date=December 18, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070523084030/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,161325,00.html |archive-date=May 23, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Day achieved the [[Order of the Coif]], indicating she was in the top 10 percent of her class.<ref name="Thomas-2019" />

== Early career and marriage ==
[[File:Sandra Day O'Connor, 1974.jpg|thumb|O'Connor in 1974|left|236x236px]]
While in her final year at Stanford Law School, Day began dating [[John Jay O'Connor III]], who was one class year behind her.<ref name="Heilpern-2013" /><ref name="Thomas-2019" />{{Rp|39–40}} On December 20, 1952, six months after her graduation, O'Connor and Day married at her family's ranch.<ref name="San Mateo Daily Journal">{{cite news|url=https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/sandra-day-o-connor-s-peninsula-ties/article_f6d00d70-67a5-11e8-9bc3-a33b5eb945f0.html|title=Sandra Day O'Connor's Peninsula Ties|work=San Mateo Daily Journal|access-date=June 4, 2018 |archive-date=June 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607162102/https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/sandra-day-o-connor-s-peninsula-ties/article_f6d00d70-67a5-11e8-9bc3-a33b5eb945f0.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Thomas-2019" />{{Rp|50–51}}

Upon graduation from law school in 1952, O'Connor had difficulty finding a paying job as an attorney in a law firm because of her [[gender]].<ref name="Haag-2018">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/23/us/politics/sandra-day-oconnor-dementia-alzheimers.html|title=Sandra Day O'Connor, First Woman on Supreme Court, Reveals Dementia Diagnosis|last=Haag|first=Matt|date=October 23, 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 26, 2018|language=en|archive-date=October 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025173900/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/23/us/politics/sandra-day-oconnor-dementia-alzheimers.html|url-status=live}}</ref> O'Connor found employment as a deputy county attorney in [[San Mateo, California]], after she offered to work for no salary and without an office, sharing space with a secretary.<ref name="freshair">{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2013/03/05/172982275/out-of-order-at-the-court-oconnor-on-being-the-first-female-justice|title='Out Of Order' At The Court: O'Connor On Being The First Female Justice|date=March 5, 2013|publisher=Fresh Air|access-date=March 5, 2013|archive-date=March 6, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306033357/http://www.npr.org/2013/03/05/172982275/out-of-order-at-the-court-oconnor-on-being-the-first-female-justice|url-status=live}}</ref> After a few months, she began drawing a small salary as she performed legal research and wrote memos.<ref name="Thomas-2019" />{{Rp|52}} She worked with [[San Mateo County]] [[District Attorney]] Louis Dematteis and deputy district attorney Keith Sorensen.<ref name="San Mateo Daily Journal" />

When her husband was drafted, O'Connor decided to go with him to work in Germany as a civilian attorney for the Army's [[Quartermaster Corps (United States Army)|Quartermaster Corps]].<ref>Baughman, J. (Ed.). (2001). O'Connor, Sandra Day 1930–. American Decades, 9. September 21, 2016.</ref> They remained there for three years before returning to the States where they settled in [[Maricopa County, Arizona]], and she started a law firm.<ref name="Kamen-1989" />  They had three sons: Scott (born 1958), Brian (born 1960), and Jay (born 1962).<ref name="The Washington Post-2009">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/11/AR2009111119571.html|title=John J. O'Connor III, 79; husband of Supreme Court justice|date=November 12, 2009|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=October 4, 2012|archive-date=September 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913120148/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/11/AR2009111119571.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Kamen-1989" /> Following Brian's birth, O'Connor took a five-year hiatus from the practice of law.<ref name="Kamen-1989" />

She volunteered in various political organizations, such as the Maricopa County Young Republicans, and served on Arizona Senator [[Barry Goldwater]]'s [[Barry Goldwater 1964 presidential campaign|presidential campaign]] in 1964.<ref>Phelps, S. (Ed.). (2002). O'Connor, Sandra Day (1930– ). World of Criminal Justice, September 20, 2016.</ref><ref name="Kamen-1989" />

O'Connor served as assistant [[Attorney General of Arizona]] from 1965 to 1969.<ref name="Kamen-1989" /> In 1969, the governor of Arizona appointed O'Connor to fill a vacancy in the [[Arizona Senate]].<ref name="Kamen-1989" /> She ran for and won the election for the seat the following year.<ref name="Kamen-1989" /> By 1973, she became the first woman to serve as Arizona's or any state's [[majority leader]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://apps.azlibrary.gov/officials/Detail.aspx?ID=1047|title=LAPR – State Library of Arizona|website=apps.azlibrary.gov|access-date=March 31, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510102422/http://apps.azlibrary.gov/officials/Detail.aspx?ID=1047|archive-date=May 10, 2017}}</ref><ref name="Williams-2016">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/03/29/how-sandra-day-oconnor-became-the-most-powerful-woman-in-1980s-america/|title=How Sandra Day O'Connor became the most powerful woman in 1980s America|last1=Williams|first1=Marjorie|date=March 29, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=March 31, 2017|last2=Williams|first2=Marjorie|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=March 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160330063935/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/03/29/how-sandra-day-oconnor-became-the-most-powerful-woman-in-1980s-america/|url-status=live}}</ref> She developed a reputation as a skilled negotiator and a moderate. After serving two full terms, O'Connor decided to leave the Senate.<ref name="Williams-2016" />

In 1974, O'Connor was appointed to the [[Maricopa County Superior Court]],<ref>{{cite web|title=General Election Canvass, 1974, p. 5|url=http://www.azsos.gov/sites/azsos.gov/files/canvass1974ge.pdf|website=Arizona Secretary of State|access-date=February 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221031035/https://www.azsos.gov/sites/azsos.gov/files/canvass1974ge.pdf|archive-date=December 21, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> serving from 1975 to 1979 when she was elevated to the [[Arizona Court of Appeals]].

In late 1977 and early 1978, she presided over an [[aggravated assault]] case against [[Clarence Dixon]], a 22-year-old [[Arizona State University]] student who had attacked a 15-year-old girl with a metal pipe. O'Connor would find Dixon [[not guilty by reason of insanity]] and have him remanded to a state hospital. In the four-day period between  O'Connor's ruling and Dixon's remanding to hospital, Dixon would rape and murder one of his seniors, 21-year-old Deana Lynne Bowdoin; he would not be arrested until 2001 when DNA evidence identified him, and he was executed for Bowdoin's murder in 2022.<ref>{{cite web |author1=<!-- not stated --> |title=Judge Rules That Arizona Death-Row Prisoner Who Had Been Previously Found Legally Insane Is Competent to Be Executed |url=https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/judge-rules-that-arizona-death-row-prisoner-who-had-been-previously-found-legally-insane-is-competent-to-be-executed |website=Death Penalty Information Center |access-date=7 December 2024 |date=6 May 2022}}</ref>

She served on the Court of Appeals-Division One until 1981 when she was appointed to the Supreme Court by President [[Ronald Reagan]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.azcourts.gov/coa1/Former-Judges/SANDRA-D-OCONNOR|title=Sandra D. O'Connor|website=azcourts.gov|language=en-US|access-date=March 31, 2017|archive-date=December 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230005439/http://www.azcourts.gov/coa1/Former-Judges/SANDRA-D-OCONNOR|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Supreme Court career==
{{Conservatism US|jurists}}

===Nomination and confirmation===
[[File:President Ronald Reagan and Sandra Day O'Connor.jpg|thumb|Supreme Court justice-nominee Sandra Day O'Connor talks with President [[Ronald Reagan]] outside the [[White House]], July 15, 1981.|left]]
On July 7, 1981, Reagan&nbsp;– who had pledged during his [[1980 United States presidential election|1980 presidential campaign]] to appoint the first woman to the Court<ref name="presidential leadership">{{Cite book|title=Presidential Leadership|author1=James Taranto |author2=Leonard Leo |publisher=Wall Street Journal Books|year=2004|url= https://archive.org/details/presidentiallead00tara|url-access=registration|access-date=October 20, 2008 | isbn=978-0743272261}}</ref>&nbsp;– announced he would nominate O'Connor as an associate justice of the Supreme Court to replace the retiring [[Potter Stewart]].<ref name="UPI-1981-Review">{{cite web |title=1981 Year in Review: Reagan Foreign Policy Speech/O'Connor Appointed to Supreme Court |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/Audio/Events-of-1988/Reagan-Foreign-Policy-Speach/OConnor-Appointed-to-Supreme-Court/ |access-date=June 29, 2019 |archive-date=June 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629183133/https://www.upi.com/Archives/Audio/Events-of-1988/Reagan-Foreign-Policy-Speach/OConnor-Appointed-to-Supreme-Court/ |url-status=live }}</ref> O'Connor received notification from President Reagan of her nomination on the day prior to the announcement and did not know that she was a finalist for the position.<ref name=freshair/>

Reagan wrote in his diary on July 6, 1981: "Called Judge O'Connor and told her she was my nominee for supreme court. Already the flak is starting and from my own supporters. [[Right to Life]] people say she is pro abortion. She declares abortion is personally repugnant to her. I think she'll make a good justice."<ref>[[Transcription (linguistics)|Transcript]] (January 30, 2008). {{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/30/GOPdebate.transcript/|title=Transcript of GOP debate at Reagan Library|date=June 30, 2008|publisher=CNN|access-date=August 27, 2009|archive-date=May 19, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100519132444/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/30/GOPdebate.transcript/|url-status=live}}</ref> O'Connor told Reagan she did not remember whether she had supported repealing [[Arizona's law banning abortion]].<ref>{{harvp|Greenburg|2007|p=223}}</ref> However, she had cast a preliminary vote in the Arizona State Senate in 1970 in favor of a bill to repeal the state's criminal-abortion statute.<ref name="greenhouse 141">{{cite book |isbn=978-0805080575 |title=Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun's Supreme Court Journey |last1=Greenhouse |first1=Linda |year= 2006 |page=[https://archive.org/details/becomingjusticeb00gree/page/141 141] |publisher=Henry Holt and Company |url=https://archive.org/details/becomingjusticeb00gree/page/141 }}</ref> In 1974, O'Connor had opined against a measure to prohibit abortions in some Arizona hospitals.<ref name="greenhouse 141" /> [[Anti-abortion]] and [[Christian right|religious groups]] opposed O'Connor's nomination because they suspected, correctly, she would not be willing to overturn ''[[Roe v. Wade]].''<ref name="greenburg 222">{{harvp|Greenburg|2007|p=222}}</ref> U.S. Senate Republicans, including [[Don Nickles]] of [[Oklahoma]], [[Steve Symms]] of [[Idaho]], and [[Jesse Helms]] of [[North Carolina]] called the [[White House]] to express their discontent over the nomination; Nickles said he and "other profamily Republican senators would not support O'Connor".<ref name="greenburg 222" /> Helms, Nickles, and Symms nevertheless reluctantly voted for confirmation.<ref>{{Cite journal|year=1981|title=CQ Senate Votes 271–278|url=https://library.cqpress.com/cqalmanac/file.php?path=Floor%20Votes%20Tables/cqal81_1981_Senate_Floor_Votes_274-281.pdf|journal=CQ Almanac|volume=47-S|access-date=November 8, 2021|archive-date=August 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210807213708/https://library.cqpress.com/cqalmanac/file.php?path=Floor%20Votes%20Tables%2Fcqal81_1981_Senate_Floor_Votes_274-281.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Photograph of Sandra Day O'Connor Being Sworn in a Supreme Court Justice by Chief Justice Warren Burger....jpg|thumb|left|O'Connor is sworn in by Chief Justice [[Warren Burger]] as her husband John O'Connor looks on.]]

Reagan formally nominated O'Connor on August 19, 1981.<ref>{{cite web|last1=U.S. National Archives|title=Reagan's Nomination of O'Connor|url=https://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/oconnor.html|access-date=August 19, 2014|archive-date=July 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140713172246/http://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/oconnor.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Conservative activists such as the Reverend [[Jerry Falwell]], [[Howard Phillips (activist)|Howard Phillips]], and Peter Gemma also spoke out against the nomination. Gemma called the nomination "a direct contradiction of the Republican [[Party platform|platform]] to everything that candidate Reagan said and even President Reagan has said in regard to social issues."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1981/0708/070837.html|title=A closer look at nation's first woman high court nominee|author=Julia Malone|date=July 8, 1981|newspaper=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]|access-date=May 20, 2016|archive-date=June 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629155810/http://www.csmonitor.com/1981/0708/070837.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Gemma, the executive director of the [[United States pro-life movement|National Pro-Life Political Action Committee]], had sought to delay O'Connor's confirmation by challenging her record, including support for the [[Equal Rights Amendment]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1981/0903/090343.html|title=New Right strategy: let's drag out O'Connor's confirmation hearing; Focus: abortion, women's rights, school prayer|date=September 3, 1981|author=Julia Malone|newspaper=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]|access-date=May 23, 2016|archive-date=June 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629151111/http://www.csmonitor.com/1981/0903/090343.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

O'Connor's confirmation hearing before the [[Senate Judiciary Committee]] began on September 9, 1981.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/10/us/o-connor-hearings-open-on-a-note-of-friendship.html|title=O'Connor Hearings Open on a Note of Friendship|last=Greenhouse|first=Linda|date=September 10, 1981|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 20, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029012648/http://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/10/us/o-connor-hearings-open-on-a-note-of-friendship.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It was the first televised confirmation hearing for a Supreme Court justice.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sites.c-span.org/camerasInTheCourt/timeline.html|title=Cameras in the Court|website=c-span.org|access-date=October 27, 2017|archive-date=October 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028093520/https://sites.c-span.org/camerasInTheCourt/timeline.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The confirmation hearing lasted three days and largely focused on the issue of abortion.<ref name="Greenhouse-1981">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/16/us/panel-approves-judge-o-connor.html|title=Panel Approves Judge O'Connor|last=Greenhouse|first=Linda|date=September 16, 1981|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 20, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028200903/http://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/16/us/panel-approves-judge-o-connor.html|url-status=live}}</ref> When asked, O'Connor refused to telegraph her views on abortion, and she was careful not to leave the impression that she supported [[abortion rights]].<ref>{{harvp|Greenburg|2007|pp=222–223}}</ref> The Judiciary Committee approved O'Connor with seventeen votes in favor and one vote of present.<ref name="Greenhouse-1981" />

On September 21, O'Connor was [[confirmed by the U.S. Senate]] with a vote of 99–0.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Senate|date=September 21, 1981|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=127|issue=16|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|page=21375|edition=Bound|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1981-pt16/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1981-pt16-5-1.pdf|access-date=July 8, 2025}}</ref><ref name="UPI-1981-Review"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Reagan's Nomination of O'Connor |url=https://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/oconnor.html |publisher=archives.gov |access-date=November 7, 2015 |archive-date=November 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151108040348/http://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/oconnor.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Only Senator [[Max Baucus]] of Montana was absent from the vote. He sent O'Connor a copy of ''[[A River Runs Through It (novel)|A River Runs Through It]]'' by way of apology.<ref>{{cite news|last=Lowe|first=Rebecca|title=Supremely confident: the legacy of Sandra Day O'Connor |url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/2011/aug/30/us-supreme-court-george-bush|work=The Guardian|date=August 30, 2011|access-date=December 16, 2016|archive-date=March 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318091111/https://www.theguardian.com/law/2011/aug/30/us-supreme-court-george-bush|url-status=live}}</ref> In her first year on the Court, she received over 60,000 letters from the public, more than any other justice in history.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna8433188|title=Sandra Day O'Connor: The reluctant justice|last=Associated Press|date=July 1, 2005|work=nbc.com|access-date=May 20, 2017|archive-date=March 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311021301/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8433188/ns/us_news-the_changing_court/t/sandra-day-oconnor-reluctant-justice/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Tenure ===
O'Connor said she felt a responsibility to demonstrate women could do the job of justice.<ref name="freshair" /> She faced some practical concerns, including the lack of a women's restroom near the Courtroom.<ref name="freshair" />

Two years after O'Connor joined the Court, ''[[The New York Times]]'' published an editorial that mentioned the "nine men"<ref name="The New York Times-1983">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/29/opinion/topics-in-the-name-of-the-law-legal-abc-s.html|title=Topics: In the Name of the LawOPICS: Legal ABC's|date=September 29, 1983|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 22, 2017|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202063959/http://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/29/opinion/topics-in-the-name-of-the-law-legal-abc-s.html|url-status=live}}</ref> of the "SCOTUS", or Supreme Court of the United States.<ref name="The New York Times-1983" /> O'Connor responded with a letter to the editor reminding the ''Times'' that the Court was no longer composed of nine men and referred to herself as FWOTSC (First Woman on the Supreme Court).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/12/opinion/l-high-court-s-9-men-were-a-surprise-to-one-225413.html|title=High Court's '9 Men' Were a Surprise to One|date=October 12, 1983|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 19, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=January 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180124135906/http://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/12/opinion/l-high-court-s-9-men-were-a-surprise-to-one-225413.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

O'Connor was a proponent of collegiality among justices on the court, often insisting that the justices eat lunch together.<ref name="Totenberg-2019" />

In 1993, [[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]] became the second female Supreme Court justice.<ref name="Totenberg-2019">{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/03/15/693542112/from-triumph-to-tragedy-first-tells-story-of-justice-sandra-day-oconnor|title=From Triumph To Tragedy, 'First' Tells Story Of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor|last=Totenberg|first=Nina|date=March 15, 2019|website=NPR.org|language=en|access-date=February 17, 2020|archive-date=February 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217225228/https://www.npr.org/2019/03/15/693542112/from-triumph-to-tragedy-first-tells-story-of-justice-sandra-day-oconnor|url-status=live}}</ref> O'Connor said that she felt relief from the media clamor when she no longer was the only woman on the Court.<ref name="Totenberg-2019" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?57167-1/women-bench|title=Women on the Bench {{!}} C-SPAN.org|website=www.c-span.org|language=en-us|access-date=January 29, 2020|archive-date=August 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806230339/https://www.c-span.org/video/?57167-1%2Fwomen-bench|url-status=live}}</ref> In May 2010, O'Connor warned female Supreme Court nominee [[Elena Kagan]] about the "unpleasant" process of confirmation hearings.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/sandra-day-oconnor-cautions-elena-kagan-dreadful-nomination/story?id=10754455|title=Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor Backs Elena Kagan Nomination|last=Clarke|first=Suzan|date=May 27, 2010|publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|access-date=December 19, 2010|archive-date=February 1, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110201170640/http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/sandra-day-oconnor-cautions-elena-kagan-dreadful-nomination/story?id=10754455|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Supreme Court jurisprudence===

[[File:O'ConnorGonzalesCloseUp.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Justice O'Connor presents [[Alberto Gonzales]] to the audience after swearing him in as [[U.S. Attorney General]], as Becky Gonzales looks on.]]
Initially, O'Connor's voting record aligned closely with the conservative [[William Rehnquist]] (voting with him 87% of the time during her first three years at the Court).<ref>{{harvp|Greenburg|2007|p=68}}</ref> From that time until 1998, O'Connor's alignment with Rehnquist ranged from 93.4% to 63.2%, hitting above 90% in three of those years.<ref name="la times">{{cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Herman |date=April 12, 1998 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-apr-12-op-38686-story.html |title=O'Connor as a 'Centrist'? Not When Minorities Are Involved |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=February 18, 2020 |archive-date=June 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160608082707/http://articles.latimes.com/1998/apr/12/opinion/op-38686 |url-status=live }}</ref> In nine of her first 16 years on the Court, O'Connor voted with Rehnquist more than with any other justice.<ref name="la times"/>

Later on, as the Court's make-up became more conservative (e.g., [[Anthony Kennedy]] replacing [[Lewis F. Powell Jr.|Lewis Powell]], and [[Clarence Thomas]] replacing [[Thurgood Marshall]]), O'Connor often became the [[swing vote]] on the Court. However, she usually disappointed the Court's more liberal bloc in contentious 5–4 decisions: from 1994 to 2004, she joined the traditional conservative bloc of Rehnquist, [[Antonin Scalia]], [[Anthony Kennedy]], and Thomas 82 times; she joined the liberal bloc of [[John Paul Stevens]], [[David Souter]], [[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]], and [[Stephen Breyer]] only 28 times.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.harvardlawreview.org/issues/118/Nov04/Nine_Justices_Ten_YearsFTX.pdf |title=Nine Justices, Ten Years: A Statistical Retrospective |journal=[[Harvard Law Review]] |publisher=[[Harvard University]] |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |volume= 118 |number=1 |page=521 |date=November 2004 |access-date=August 31, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060327053526/http://www.harvardlawreview.org/issues/118/Nov04/Nine_Justices_Ten_YearsFTX.pdf |archive-date=March 27, 2006}}</ref>

O'Connor's relatively small<ref name="wash post">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14368-2004Oct31.html |title=Justices Too Tightlipped on Their Health? |first=Charles |last=Lane |date=November 1, 2004 |page=A19 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=December 19, 2010 |archive-date=May 1, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501115823/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14368-2004Oct31.html |url-status=live }}</ref> shift away from conservatives on the Court seems to have been due at least in part to Thomas' views.<ref>{{harvp|Greenburg|2007|pp=122–123}}</ref> When Thomas and O'Connor were voting on the same side, she would typically write a separate opinion of her own, refusing to join his.<ref>{{harvp|Greenburg|2007|pp=123, 134}}</ref> In the 1992 term, O'Connor did not join a single one of Thomas's dissents.<ref>{{harvp|Greenburg|2007|p=123}}</ref>

Some notable cases in which O'Connor joined the majority in a 5–4 decision were:
* ''[[McConnell v. FEC]]'', {{ussc|540|93|2003}}, upholding the constitutionality of most of the [[Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act|McCain-Feingold campaign-finance bill]] regulating "[[Campaign finance in the United States#Terminology, definitions|soft money]]" contributions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aclu.org/other/cases-which-sandra-day-oconnor-cast-decisive-vote|title=Cases in Which Sandra Day O'Connor Cast the Decisive Vote|website=[[American Civil Liberties]] Union|language=en|access-date=April 21, 2019|archive-date=April 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421035447/https://www.aclu.org/other/cases-which-sandra-day-oconnor-cast-decisive-vote|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''[[Grutter v. Bollinger]]'', {{ussc|539|306|2003}} and ''[[Gratz v. Bollinger]]'', {{ussc|539|244|2003}}, O'Connor wrote the opinion of the Court in ''Grutter'' and joined the majority in ''Gratz''. In this pair of cases, the [[University of Michigan]]'s undergraduate admissions program was held to have engaged in unconstitutional [[reverse discrimination]], but the more limited type of [[affirmative action]] in the [[University of Michigan Law School]]'s admissions program was held to have been constitutional.
* ''[[Lockyer v. Andrade]]'', {{ussc|538|63|2003}}: O'Connor wrote the majority opinion, with the four conservative justices concurring, that a 50-year to life sentence without parole for petty shoplifting a few children's videotapes under California's three strikes law was not [[cruel and unusual punishment]] under the [[Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Eighth Amendment]] because there was no "clearly established" law to that effect. Leandro Andrade, a Latino nine-year Army veteran and father of three, will be eligible for parole in 2046 at age 87.
* ''[[Zelman v. Simmons-Harris]]'', {{ussc|536|639|2002}}, O'Connor joined the majority holding that the use of [[school voucher]]s for religious schools did not violate the [[First Amendment]]'s [[Establishment Clause]].
* ''[[United States v. Lopez]]'', {{ussc|514|549|1995}}: O'Connor joined a majority holding unconstitutional the [[Gun-Free School Zones Act]] as beyond Congress' [[Commerce Clause]] power.
* ''[[Bush v. Gore]]'', {{ussc|531|98|2000}}, O'Connor joined with four other justices on December 12, 2000, to rule on the ''Bush v. Gore'' case that ceased challenges to the results of the [[2000 United States presidential election|2000 presidential election]] (ruling to stop the ongoing [[Florida election recount]] and to allow no further recounts). This case effectively ended [[Al Gore]]'s hopes to become president. Some legal scholars have argued that she should have recused herself from this case, citing several reports that she became upset when the media initially announced that Gore had won Florida, with her husband explaining that they would have to wait another four years before retiring to Arizona.<ref name="Neumann">{{Cite journal | first=Richard K. Jr. |last=Neumann |title=Conflicts of interest in Bush v. Gore: Did some justices vote illegally? |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3975/is_200304/ai_n9221306 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060615061559/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3975/is_200304/ai_n9221306 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 15, 2006 |journal=[[Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics]] |publisher=[[Georgetown University]]|location=Washington D.C.|date=Spring 2003 |page=34}}</ref> O'Connor expressed surprise that the decision became controversial.<ref name="vanityfair.com">{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2004/10/florida-election-2000|title=Behind the aftermath of the 2000 U.S. election|first=David|last=Margolick|magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|date=March 19, 2014|access-date=July 3, 2019|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126114100/http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2004/10/florida-election-2000|url-status=live}}</ref> Some people in Washington stopped shaking her hand after the decision, and [[Arthur Miller]] confronted her about it at the [[Kennedy Center]].<ref name="vanityfair.com"/>

O'Connor played an important role in other notable cases, such as:
* ''[[Webster v. Reproductive Health Services]]'', {{ussc|492|490|1989}}: This decision upheld as constitutional state restrictions on second trimester abortions that are not necessary to protect maternal health, contrary to the original trimester requirements in ''[[Roe v. Wade]]''. Although O'Connor joined the majority, which also included Rehnquist, Scalia, Kennedy, and [[Byron White]], in a concurring opinion she refused to explicitly overturn ''Roe''.

On February 22, 2005, with Rehnquist and Stevens (who were senior to her) absent, she became the senior justice presiding over oral arguments in the case of ''[[Kelo v. City of New London]]'', becoming the first woman to do so before the Court.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Glass |first1=Andrew |title=Senate confirms first female Supreme Court justice, Sept. 21, 1981 |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/senate-confirms-first-female-supreme-court-justice-sept-21-1981-228285 |date=September 21, 2016 |website=[[Politico]] |access-date=March 15, 2020 |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806233501/https://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/senate-confirms-first-female-supreme-court-justice-sept-21-1981-228285 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====First Amendment====
O'Connor was unpredictable in many of her court decisions, especially those regarding First Amendment [[Establishment Clause]] issues. Barry Lynn, executive director of [[Americans United for Separation of Church and State]], said, "O'Connor was a conservative, but she saw the complexity of church-state issues and tried to choose a course that respected the country's religious diversity" (Hudson 2005). O'Connor voted in favor of religious institutions, such as in ''[[Rosenberger v. University of Virginia]]'' (1995), ''[[Mitchell v. Helms]]'' (2000), and ''[[Zelman v. Simmons-Harris]]'' (2002). Conversely, in ''[[Lee v. Weisman]]'' she was part of the majority in the case that saw religious prayer and pressure to stand in silence at a graduation ceremony as part of a religious act that coerced people to support or participate in religion, which the Establishment Clause strictly prohibits. This is consistent with a similar case, ''[[Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe]]'', involving prayer at a school football game. In this case, O'Connor joined the majority opinion that stated prayer at school football games violates the Establishment Clause. O'Connor was the first justice to articulate the "no endorsement" standard for the Establishment Clause.<ref name="S.M.-2013">{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2013/10/religious-liberty-and-supreme-court|title=Endorsing the endorsement test|last=S.M.|date=October 8, 2013|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|access-date=June 21, 2017|archive-date=December 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220144859/http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2013/10/religious-liberty-and-supreme-court|url-status=live}}</ref> In ''[[Lynch v. Donnelly]]'', O'Connor signed onto a five-justice majority opinion holding that a nativity scene in a public Christmas display did not violate the First Amendment. She penned a concurrence in that case, opining that the crèche did not violate the Establishment Clause because it did not express an endorsement or disapproval of any religion.<ref name="S.M.-2013" /> In ''Board of County Commissioners, Wabaunsee County, Kansas v Umbehr'' (1996) she upheld the application of first amendment free speech rights to independent contractors working for public bodies, being unpersuaded "that there is a 'difference of constitutional magnitude' ... between independent contractors and employees" in circumstances where a contractor has been critical of a governing body.<ref>[https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/94-1654.ZO.html Board of County Commissioners, Wabaun See County, Kansas, Petitioner v Keen A. Umbehr], 28 June 1996, accessed 18 February 2024</ref>

==== Fourth Amendment ====
According to law professor [[Jeffrey Rosen (legal academic)|Jeffrey Rosen]], "O'Connor was an eloquent opponent of intrusive group searches that threatened privacy without increasing security. In a [[United States v. Place|1983 opinion]] upholding searches by drug-sniffing dogs, she recognized that a search is most likely to be considered [[Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution|constitutionally reasonable]] if it is very effective at discovering [[contraband]] without revealing ''innocent but embarrassing'' information."<ref>{{cite news |author-link=Jeffrey Rosen (legal academic) |last=Rosen |first=Jeffrey |date=November 28, 2010 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/26/AR2010112604290.html |title=The TSA is invasive, annoying&nbsp;– and unconstitutional |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-date=December 5, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205063930/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/26/AR2010112604290.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Washington College of Law]] professor Andrew Taslitz, referencing O'Connor's [[Atwater v. City of Lago Vista#Dissenting opinion|dissent]] in a [[Atwater v. City of Lago Vista|2001 case]], said of her [[Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourth Amendment]] jurisprudence: "O'Connor recognizes that needless humiliation of an individual is an important factor in determining Fourth Amendment reasonableness."<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GOpW_DdlMSIC&q=o%27connor+%22fourth+amendment%22&pg=PA83 |page=83 |title=Reconstructing the Fourth Amendment: A History of Search and Seizure, 1789–1868 |isbn=978-0814783153 |last1=Taslitz |first1=Andrew E. |date=October 1, 2006 |publisher=[[NYU Press]] |location=New York City |access-date=November 20, 2020 |archive-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151021/https://books.google.com/books?id=GOpW_DdlMSIC&q=o%27connor+%22fourth+amendment%22&pg=PA83 |url-status=live }}</ref> O'Connor once quoted the [[social contract theory]] of [[John Locke]] as influencing her views on the reasonableness and constitutionality of government action.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.utahpatentattorneys.com/File/c2c851b5-8b2b-4dfb-b1b7-ff7ba1ead084 |title=Regula Pro Lege, Si Deficit Lex: The Latin Sapience of High Judges |access-date=November 17, 2016 |work=[[The Federal Bar Association]] |archive-date=November 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119120343/http://www.utahpatentattorneys.com/File/c2c851b5-8b2b-4dfb-b1b7-ff7ba1ead084 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Cases involving race====
In ''[[McCleskey v. Kemp]]'' (1987), O'Connor joined a 5–4 majority that voted to uphold the death penalty for an African American man, Warren McCleskey, convicted of killing a white police officer, despite statistical evidence that Black defendants were more likely to receive the death penalty than others both in Georgia and in the U.S. as a whole.<ref name="la times" /><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?path=/GovernmentPolitics/Government/LegalCases&id=h-2933 |title=McCleskey v. Kemp |encyclopedia=[[New Georgia Encyclopedia]] |access-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-date=May 14, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514024725/http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?path=%2FGovernmentPolitics%2FGovernment%2FLegalCases&id=h-2933 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>David Baldus, et al., "In The Post-Furman Era: An Empirical And Legal Overview, With Recent Findings From Philadelphia", 83 ''Cornell Law Rev.'' 1638 (1998)</ref>

In the 1990 and 1995 ''[[Missouri v. Jenkins]]'' rulings, O'Connor voted with the majority that Federal district courts had no authority to require the state of Missouri to increase school funding to counteract racial inequality. In the 1991 case ''Freeman v. Pitts'', O'Connor joined a concurring opinion in a plurality, agreeing that a school district that had formerly been under judicial review for [[racial segregation]] could be freed of this review, even though not all [[desegregation]] targets had been met. Law professor Herman Schwartz criticized these rulings, writing that in both cases "both the fact and effects of segregation were still present".<ref name="la times" />

In 1996's ''[[Shaw v. Hunt]]'' and ''[[Shaw v. Reno]]'', O'Connor joined a Rehnquist opinion, following an earlier precedent from an opinion she authored in 1993, in which the Court struck down an electoral districting plan designed to facilitate the election of two Black representatives out of 12 from North Carolina, a state that had not had any Black representative since [[Reconstruction era|Reconstruction]], despite being approximately 20% Black<ref name="la times" />{{snd}}the Court held that the districts were unacceptably [[gerrymander]]ed and O'Connor called the odd shape of the district in question, [[North Carolina's 12th congressional district|North Carolina's 12th]], "bizarre".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shaw v. Reno, 509 U.S. 630 (1993) |url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/509/630/ |access-date=December 1, 2023 |website=Justia Law |language=en |archive-date=December 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231201040827/https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/509/630/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Law professor Herman Schwartz called O'Connor "the Court's leader in its assault on racially oriented [[affirmative action]]",<ref name="la times"/> although she joined with the Court in upholding the constitutionality of limited race-based admissions to universities.<ref name="presidential leadership"/>

In 2003, O'Connor authored a majority Supreme Court opinion (''[[Grutter v. Bollinger]]'') saying racial affirmative action should not be constitutional permanently, but long enough to correct past discrimination{{snd}}with an approximate limit of around 25 years.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.hlrecord.org/2.4463/justice-o-connor-affirmative-action-should-continue-1.577502 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120118081933/http://www.hlrecord.org/2.4463/justice-o-connor-affirmative-action-should-continue-1.577502 |archive-date=January 18, 2012 |title=Justice O'Connor: affirmative action should continue |access-date=March 9, 2012 }}</ref>

====Abortion====
The [[Christian right]] element in the Reagan coalition strongly supported him in 1980, in the belief that he would appoint Supreme Court justices to overturn ''[[Roe v. Wade]]''. They were astonished and dismayed when his first appointment was O'Connor, who they feared would tolerate abortion. They worked hard to defeat her confirmation but failed.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Prudence|last=Flowers|title='A Prolife Disaster': The Reagan Administration and the Nomination of Sandra Day O'Connor|journal=[[Journal of Contemporary History]]|publisher=[[SAGE Journals]]|location=Thousand Oaks, California|volume=53|issue=2|date=January 2019|pages=391–414|doi=10.1177/0022009417699865 |s2cid=159917418 }}</ref> In her confirmation hearings and early days on the Court, O'Connor was carefully ambiguous on the issue of abortion, as some conservatives questioned her [[anti-abortion]] credentials based on some of her votes in the Arizona legislature.<ref name="greenburg 222"/> O'Connor generally dissented from 1980s opinions which took an expansive view of ''Roe v. Wade''; she criticized that decision's "trimester approach" sharply in her dissent in ''[[City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health]]'' (1983). She criticized ''Roe'' in ''[[Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists]]'' (1986): "I dispute not only the wisdom but also the legitimacy of the Court's attempt to discredit and pre-empt state abortion regulation regardless of the interests it serves and the impact it has."<ref name="Greenhouse, Becoming Justice Blackmun"/> In 1989, O'Connor stated during the deliberations over the ''Webster'' case that she would not overrule ''Roe''.<ref>{{harvp|Greenburg|2007|p=80}}</ref> While on the Court, O'Connor did not vote to strike down any restrictions on abortion until ''[[Hodgson v. Minnesota]]'' in 1990.<ref name="Greenhouse, Becoming Justice Blackmun">{{cite book | first = Linda | last = Greenhouse | author-link = Linda Greenhouse | title = Becoming Justice Blackmun | publisher = [[Times Books]] | location=New York City |year = 2006 | isbn = 0805080570 | pages = 196–197}}</ref>

O'Connor allowed certain limits to be placed on access to abortion, but supported the right to abortion established by ''Roe''. In the landmark ruling ''[[Planned Parenthood v. Casey]]'' (1992), O'Connor used a test she had originally developed in ''City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health'' to limit the holding of ''Roe v. Wade'', opening up a legislative portal where a State could enact measures so long as they did not place an "[[undue burden]]" on a woman's right to an abortion. ''Casey'' revised downward the standard of scrutiny federal courts would apply to state abortion restrictions, a major departure from ''Roe''. However, it preserved ''Roe''<nowiki/>'s core constitutional precept: that the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth Amendment]] implies and protects a woman's fundamental right to control the outcomes of her reproductive actions. Writing the plurality opinion for the Court, O'Connor, along with Kennedy and Souter, famously declared: "At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life. Beliefs about these matters could not define the attributes of personhood were they formed under compulsion of the State."<ref>''Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey,'' 505 U.S. 833, 851 (1992).</ref>

====Commentary and analysis====
O'Connor's case-by-case approach routinely placed her in the center of the Court and drew both criticism and praise. ''[[Washington Post]]'' columnist [[Charles Krauthammer]], for example, described her as lacking a judicial philosophy and instead displaying "political positioning embedded in a social agenda."<ref>{{Cite news |title=Philosophy for a Judge |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/07/AR2005070701898.html |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |first=Charles |last=Krauthammer |authorlink=Charles Krauthammer |access-date=November 18, 2005 |date=July 8, 2005 |archive-date=October 26, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051026043126/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/07/AR2005070701898.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Conservative commentator [[Ramesh Ponnuru]] wrote that, even though O'Connor "has voted reasonably well", her tendency to issue very case-specific rulings "undermines the predictability of the law and aggrandizes the judicial role."<ref>{{Cite news|title=Sandra's Day|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/flashback/ponnuru200507011211.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050911141328/http://www.nationalreview.com/flashback/ponnuru200507011211.asp|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 11, 2005|access-date=March 18, 2007|first=Ramesh|last=Ponnuru|authorlink=Ramesh Ponnuru|work=[[National Review]]|date=June 30, 2003}}</ref>

Law clerks serving the Court in 2000 speculated that the decision she reached in ''Bush v. Gore'' was based on a desire to appear fair, rather than on any legal rationale, pointing to a memo she sent out the night before the decision was issued that used entirely different logic to reach the same result. They also characterized her approach to cases as deciding on "gut feelings".<ref name="vanityfair.com"/>

=== Other activities while serving on the Court ===
{{external media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?176071-1/the-majesty-law Interview with O'Connor on ''The Majesty of the Law'', April 9, 2003], [[C-SPAN]]| video2 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?189030-1/chico Presentation by O'Connor on ''Chico'', September 18, 2005], [[C-SPAN]]}}
In 2003, she wrote a book titled ''The Majesty of the Law: Reflections of a Supreme Court Justice'' ({{ISBN|0-375-50925-9}}).<ref>{{cite web |title=The Majesty of the Law |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/the-majesty-of-the-law |publisher=PBS |date=June 9, 2003 |access-date=March 15, 2020 |archive-date=August 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820134044/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/the-majesty-of-the-law |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2005, she wrote a children's book, ''Chico: A True Story from the Childhood of the First Woman Supreme Court Justice'', named for her favorite horse, which offered an autobiographical depiction of her childhood.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1076621&page=1|title=Sandra Day O'Connor Writes Children's Book|last=ABC News|date=June 1, 2006|website=ABC News|language=en|access-date=May 11, 2018|archive-date=May 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180512112506/https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1076621&page=1|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Retirement==
On December 12, 2000, ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' reported that O'Connor was reluctant to retire with a Democrat in the presidency: "At an Election Night party at the Washington, D.C., home of Mary Ann Stoessel, widow of former Ambassador [[Walter Stoessel]], the justice's husband, John O'Connor, mentioned to others her desire to step down, according to three witnesses. But Mr. O'Connor said his wife would be reluctant to retire if a Democrat were in the White House and would choose her replacement. Justice O'Connor declined to comment."<ref>{{Cite news|title=Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics: "Conflicts of interest in Bush v. Gore: Did some justices vote illegally?" |url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3975/is_200304/ai_n9221306|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060615061559/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3975/is_200304/ai_n9221306|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 15, 2006|access-date=November 18, 2005 | work=The Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics | year=2003}}</ref>

[[File:SandraOconnor and GeorgeWBush May2004.jpg|thumb|right|Justice O'Connor and her husband John O'Connor with President [[George W. Bush]] in May 2004]]
[[File:oconnor070105 0001.jpg|thumb|upright|Justice O'Connor's letter to Bush, dated July 1, 2005, announcing her retirement]]
By 2005, the composition of the Court had been unchanged for eleven years, the second-longest period in American history without any such change. Rehnquist was widely expected to be the first justice to retire during Bush's term, owing to his age and his battle with cancer, although rumors of O'Connor's possible retirement circulated as well.<ref name="Deane-2005">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/01/AR2005070100653.html|title=Supreme Court Justice O'Connor Resigns|last1=Deane|first1=Daniela|date=July 1, 2005|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=October 27, 2017|last2=Branigin|first2=William|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286|last3=Barbash|first3=Fred|archive-date=December 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171219044223/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/01/AR2005070100653.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

On July 1, 2005, O'Connor announced her intention to retire. In her letter to Bush, she stated that her retirement from active service would take effect upon the confirmation of her successor.<ref name="Deane-2005" /> Her letter did not provide a reason for her departure; however, a Supreme Court spokeswoman confirmed O'Connor was leaving to spend time with her husband.<ref name="Deane-2005" />

On July 19, Bush nominated [[D.C. Circuit]] Judge [[John Roberts]] to succeed O'Connor. O'Connor heard the news over the car radio on the way back from a fishing trip.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Landers|first=Rich|date=October 2005|title=Guiding Sandra Day O'Connor|journal=Field & Stream|volume=CX|page=21|id={{ProQuest|<!-- Add ProQuest data here -->}} }}</ref> She described Roberts soon after the nomination as "good in every way, except he's not a woman".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bumiller |first1=Elisabeth |title=Court in Transition: The President; An Interview By, Not With, The President |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/21/us/front |access-date=December 2, 2023 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 21, 2005 |archive-date=December 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207112805/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/21/us/front%20page/court-in-transition-the-president-an-interview-by-not-with.html?searchResultPosition=10 |url-status=live }}</ref>

O'Connor had expected to leave the Court before the next term started on October 3, 2005.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jul/01/usa|title=First woman to serve as US supreme court justice retires|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=July 1, 2005|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=October 27, 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=October 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028150207/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jul/01/usa|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="O'Connor to remain crucial vote in major cases-2005" /> However, Rehnquist died on September 3,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.denverpost.com/2005/09/03/chief-justice-rehnquist-dies-of-thyroid-cancer/|title=Chief Justice Rehnquist dies of thyroid cancer|date=September 3, 2005|work=[[The Denver Post]]|access-date=October 27, 2017|language=en-US|archive-date=October 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028094827/http://www.denverpost.com/2005/09/03/chief-justice-rehnquist-dies-of-thyroid-cancer/|url-status=live}}</ref> creating an immediate vacancy on the Court.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/THE-SUPREME-COURT-IN-TRANSITION-The-death-of-2571270.php|title=The Supreme Court in Transition: The death of William Rehnquist / Chief justice's passing provides Bush with major opportunity|last=Sandalow|first=Marc|date=September 5, 2005|work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|access-date=October 27, 2017|archive-date=October 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028094230/http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/THE-SUPREME-COURT-IN-TRANSITION-The-death-of-2571270.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Two days later, Bush withdrew Roberts as his nominee for her seat and instead appointed him to fill the vacant office of Chief Justice.<ref name="CNN-2005">{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/05/roberts.nomination/|title=Bush nominates Roberts as chief justice|date=September 6, 2005|publisher=CNN|language=en|access-date=October 28, 2017|archive-date=February 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204191709/http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/05/roberts.nomination/|url-status=live}}</ref> O'Connor agreed to stay on the Court until her replacement was named and confirmed.<ref name="CNN-2005" /> She spoke at the late chief justice's funeral.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rehnquist-given-final-farewell/|title=Rehnquist Given Final Farewell|last=Alfano|first=Sean|date=September 7, 2005|access-date=October 27, 2017|language=en|archive-date=October 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028094100/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rehnquist-given-final-farewell/|url-status=live}}</ref> On October 3, Bush nominated [[White House Counsel]] [[Harriet Miers]] to replace O'Connor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/10/03/scotus.miers/|title=Bush picks White House counsel for Supreme Court|date=October 4, 2005|publisher=[[CNN]]|language=en|access-date=October 28, 2017|archive-date=October 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029013017/http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/10/03/scotus.miers/|url-status=live}}</ref> After much [[Harriet Miers Supreme Court nomination|criticism and controversy]] over her nomination, on October 27, Miers asked Bush to withdraw her nomination.<ref name="Babington-2005">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/27/AR2005102700547.html|title=Miers, Under Fire From Right, Withdrawn as Court Nominee|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|last1=Babington|first1=Charles|date=October 28, 2005|access-date=October 28, 2017|last2=Fletcher|first2=Michael A.|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=November 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107040439/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/27/AR2005102700547.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Bush accepted, reopening the search for O'Connor's successor.<ref name="Babington-2005" />

The continued delays in confirming a successor further extended O'Connor's time on the Court.<ref name="O'Connor to remain crucial vote in major cases-2005">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna9842789|title=O'Connor to remain crucial vote in major cases|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=October 27, 2005|publisher=MSNBC|access-date=October 27, 2017|language=en|archive-date=October 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028093713/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/9842789/ns/us_news-the_changing_court/t/oconnor-remain-crucial-vote-major-cases/#.WfPrgWhSzIU|url-status=live}}</ref> She continued to hear oral argument on cases, including cases dealing with controversial issues such as [[Assisted suicide|physician-assisted suicide]] and abortion.<ref name="O'Connor to remain crucial vote in major cases-2005" /> O'Connor's last Court opinion, ''[[Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of New England]]'', written for a unanimous court, was a procedural decision that involved a challenge to a New Hampshire abortion law.<ref>{{Cite journal|year=2006|title=The Supreme Court 2005 Term – Leading Cases|url=https://harvardlawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/ayotte_v_planned_parenthood.pdf|journal=[[Harvard Law Review]]|publisher=[[Harvard Law School]]|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|volume=120|page=295|access-date=October 28, 2017|archive-date=October 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014183126/https://harvardlawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/ayotte_v_planned_parenthood.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

On October 31, Bush nominated [[Third Circuit]] Judge [[Samuel Alito]] to replace O'Connor;<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/10/31/scotus.bush/index.html|title=Bush nominates Alito to Supreme Court|date=November 1, 2005|publisher=[[CNN]]|language=en|access-date=October 28, 2017|archive-date=October 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028094613/http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/10/31/scotus.bush/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Alito was confirmed by a 58–42 vote and was sworn in on January 31, 2006.<ref>{{Cite web|title=U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 109th Congress – 2nd Session|url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00002|access-date=February 11, 2021|website=senate.gov|archive-date=August 29, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080829201552/https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00002|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/31/alito/|title=Alito sworn in as nation's 110th Supreme Court justice|date=February 1, 2006|publisher=[[CNN]]|language=en|access-date=October 27, 2017|archive-date=February 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203040334/http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/31/alito/|url-status=live}}</ref> After retiring, she continued to hear cases and rendered over a dozen opinions in federal appellate courts across the country, filling in as a substitute judge when vacations or vacancies left their three-member panels understaffed.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Change of Venue: In Retirement, Justice O'Connor Still Rules|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124994271588320565#mod=todays_us_page_one|first=Jess|last=Bravin|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=August 11, 2009|access-date=August 8, 2017|archive-date=October 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028093841/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124994271588320565#mod=todays_us_page_one|url-status=live}}</ref> On Alito's nomination, O'Connor said, "I've often said, it's wonderful to be the first to do something but I didn't want to be the last. If I didn't do a good job, it might've been the last and indeed when I retired, I was not replaced, then, by a woman which gives one pause to think 'Oh, what did I do wrong that led to this.{{'"}}<ref>{{Citation|title=Excerpts from C-SPAN's Interviews with Supreme Court Justices| date=September 3, 2009 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUfl9-cwJt4&list=TLPQMjcwMTIwMjJTgpgUK9DfGg&index=61|language=en|access-date=January 27, 2022|archive-date=January 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127221831/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUfl9-cwJt4&list=TLPQMjcwMTIwMjJTgpgUK9DfGg&index=61|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Post-Supreme Court career==
[[File:O'Connor and Kagan.jpg|thumb|right|O'Connor in 2008 with [[Harvard Law School]] dean [[Elena Kagan]]. Kagan later became the fourth female justice on the Court.]]

In her retirement, O'Connor continued to speak and organize conferences on the issue of [[judicial independence]].<ref name="NYT1"/> During a March 2006 speech at [[Georgetown University]], O'Connor said some political attacks on the independence of the courts pose a direct threat to the constitutional freedoms of Americans. She said, "Any reform of the system is debatable as long as it is not motivated by retaliation for decisions that political leaders disagree with." She also noting that she was "against judicial reforms driven by nakedly partisan reasoning".<ref name=NPR>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5255712|title=O'Connor Decries Republican Attacks on Courts|website=NPR.org|access-date=April 4, 2018|archive-date=September 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912235700/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5255712|url-status=live}}</ref> "Courts interpret the law as it was written, not as the congressmen might have wished it was written", and "it takes a lot of degeneration before a country falls into dictatorship, but we should avoid these ends by avoiding these beginnings."<ref name=NPR/>

On November 19, 2008, O'Connor published an introductory essay on a themed judicial accountability issue in the ''Denver University Law Review''. She called for a better public understanding of judicial accountability.<ref>{{cite journal|url = https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/denlr86&div=4|title = Judicial Accountability Must Safeguard, Not Threaten, Judicial Independence: An Introduction|journal = [[Denver University Law Review]]|publisher=[[Denver University]]|location = Denver, Colorado|volume = 86|pages = 1|last1 = O'Connor|first1 = Sandra Day|access-date = November 8, 2021|archive-date = August 6, 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200806230459/https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals%2Fdenlr86&div=4|url-status = live}}</ref> On November 7, 2007, at a conference on her landmark opinion in ''[[Strickland v. Washington]]'' (1984) sponsored by the [[Constitution Project]], O'Connor highlighted the lack of proper legal representation for many of the poorest defendants.<ref name="U.S. News & World Report-2007">{{cite news|url=https://www.usnews.com/articles/news/national/2007/11/07/justice-oconnors-wish-a-wand-not-a-gavel.html|title=Justice O'Connor's Wish: a Wand, not a Gavel|newspaper=[[U.S. News & World Report]]|date=November 7, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081101105524/http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/national/2007/11/07/justice-oconnors-wish-a-wand-not-a-gavel.html/ |archive-date=November 1, 2008}}</ref> O'Connor also urged the creation of a system for "merit selection for judges", a cause for which she had frequently advocated.<ref name="U.S. News & World Report-2007" /><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/oconnor-and-her-clerk|title=O'Connor and Her Clerk|last=Toobin|first=Jeffrey|authorlink=Jeffrey Toobin|date=June 11, 2012|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|access-date=May 10, 2018|language=en|issn=0028-792X|archive-date=May 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511083055/https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/oconnor-and-her-clerk|url-status=live}}</ref>

On August 7, 2008, O'Connor and [[Abdurrahman Wahid]], former [[President of Indonesia]], wrote an editorial in the ''[[Financial Times]]'' stating concerns about the threatened imprisonment of Malaysian opposition leader [[Anwar Ibrahim]].<ref>{{cite news|first1=Sandra Day|last1=O'Connor|first2=Abdurrahman|last2=Wahid|authorlink2=Abdurrahman Wahid|url=https://www.ft.com/content/1a03116e-6484-11dd-af61-0000779fd18c|title=To defend Anwar is to defend Malaysian democracy|newspaper=[[Financial Times]]|date=August 7, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080813081442/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1a03116e-6484-11dd-af61-0000779fd18c.html |archive-date=August 13, 2008 }}</ref>

In October 2008, O'Connor spoke on racial equality in education at a conference hosted by the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at [[Harvard Law School]]. Later in the conference, she was awarded the Charles Hamilton Houston Justice Award alongside [[Desmond Tutu]] and [[Dolores Huerta]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Emily|last=Dupraz|title=Affirmative action is still necessary, says O'Connor in HLS keynote address|url=https://hls.harvard.edu/today/affirmative-action-is-still-necessary-says-oconnor-in-hls-keynote-address/|date=October 27, 2008|website=[[Harvard Law School]]|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|access-date=August 25, 2022|archive-date=August 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220825173413/https://hls.harvard.edu/today/affirmative-action-is-still-necessary-says-oconnor-in-hls-keynote-address/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Following the Court's ''[[Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission]]'' decision on corporate political spending, O'Connor offered measured criticism of the decision, telling Georgetown law students and lawyers, "that the Court has created an unwelcome new path for wealthy interests to exert influence on judicial elections."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/oconnor-citizens-united-ruling-problem/story?id=9668044 |title=O'Connor Calls Citizens United Ruling A Problem |first=Matthew |last=Mosk |website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |date=January 26, 2010 |access-date=December 19, 2010 |archive-date=March 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310155647/http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/oconnor-citizens-united-ruling-problem/story?id=9668044 |url-status=live }}</ref>

O'Connor argued in favor of President [[Barack Obama]] naming the replacement for [[Antonin Scalia]] in February 2016, mere days after Scalia's death, opposing Republican arguments that the next president should get to fill the vacancy. She said, "I think we need somebody there to do the job now and let's get on with it. ... You just have to pick the best person you can under the circumstances, as the appointing authority must do. It's an important position and one that we care about as a nation and as a people. And I wish the president well as he makes choices and goes down that line. It's hard."<ref>{{cite news |first=Cristian |last=Farias |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sandra-day-oconnor-scalia_n_56c5313be4b0c3c55053c6d9 |title=Sandra Day O'Connor Says Obama Should Get To Replace Justice Scalia |work=[[HuffPost]] |date=February 17, 2016 |access-date=May 2, 2020 |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807192900/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sandra-day-oconnor-scalia_n_56c5313be4b0c3c55053c6d9 |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Sandra Day O'Connor (30332170365).jpg|thumb|O'Connor in 2016]]
Judge [[William H. Pryor Jr.]], a conservative jurist, has criticized O'Connor's speeches and op-eds for hyperbole and factual inaccuracy, based in part on O'Connor's opinions as to whether judges face a rougher time in the public eye today than in the past.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB115992646659882019|title=Neither Force Nor Will, But Merely Judgment|last=Pryor|first=William H. Jr.|date=October 4, 2006|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|access-date=August 8, 2017|archive-date=November 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171124201117/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB115992646659882019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://media.www.hlrecord.org/media/storage/paper609/news/2007/03/15/News/Judge.Pryor.On.Judicial.Independence-2777228.shtml |title=Judge Pryor on Judicial Independence |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927021204/http://media.www.hlrecord.org/media/storage/paper609/news/2007/03/15/News/Judge.Pryor.On.Judicial.Independence-2777228.shtml |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |work=[[Harvard Law Record]] |date=March 15, 2007 }}</ref>

O'Connor reflected on her time on the Supreme Court by saying that she regretted the Court hearing the ''Bush v. Gore'' case in 2000 because it "stirred up the public" and "gave the Court a less-than-perfect reputation". She told the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' that "maybe the Court should have said, 'We're not going to take it, goodbye,' ... It turned out the election authorities in Florida hadn't done a real good job there and kind of messed it up. And probably the Supreme Court added to the problem at the end of the day".<ref>{{Cite news|first=Dahleen|last=Glanton|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-sandra-day-oconnor-edit-board-20130427,0,1201477.story|title=O'Connor questions court's decision to take Bush v. Gore|date=April 27, 2013|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|access-date=May 2, 2013|archive-date=May 4, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130504091947/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-sandra-day-oconnor-edit-board-20130427,0,1201477.story|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Granite State Ins. Co. v. Am. Bldg. Materials, Inc., No. 12-10979, 11th Circuit, 2013</ref>

===Activities and memberships===
{{update|section|date=December 2023}}
As a retired Supreme Court justice, O'Connor continued to receive a full salary, maintained a staffed office with at least one law clerk, and heard cases on a part-time basis in federal [[United States district court|district courts]] and [[United States court of appeals|courts of appeals]] as a [[visiting judge]].<ref name="Barnes-2013">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/retired-supreme-court-justices-still-judge--and-get-judged/2013/03/10/1b22943c-897f-11e2-8d72-dc76641cb8d4_story.html|title=Retired Supreme Court justices still judge – and get judged|last=Barnes|first=Robert|date=March 10, 2013|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=May 10, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=May 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511214608/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/retired-supreme-court-justices-still-judge--and-get-judged/2013/03/10/1b22943c-897f-11e2-8d72-dc76641cb8d4_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> By 2008, O'Connor had sat for cases with the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit|2nd]], [[United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit|8th]], and [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit|9th Circuits]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/10/oconnor-to-hear-second-circuit-cases.php|title=Paper Chase: O'Connor to hear Second Circuit cases|last=Mulcahy|first=Ned|date=October 7, 2006|work=[[Jurist]]|access-date=November 11, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017170301/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/10/oconnor-to-hear-second-circuit-cases.php|archive-date=October 17, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/a_cowgirl_rides_the_circuits|title=A Cowgirl Rides the Circuits|last=Brust|first=Richard|date=April 2008|work=ABA Journal|access-date=May 10, 2018|language=en|archive-date=May 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511150203/http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/a_cowgirl_rides_the_circuits|url-status=live}}</ref> O'Connor heard an Arizona voting rights case which the Supreme Court later reviewed.<ref name="Barnes-2013" /> In ''[[Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc.|Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona]]'', a 7–2 majority affirmed O'Connor and the rest of 9th Circuit panel, and struck down a provision of Arizona's voting registration law.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2013/06/17/justice/scotus-voter-registration-ruling/index.html|title=Justices strike down citizenship provision in Arizona voter law |last=Mears|first=Bill|date=June 17, 2013|publisher=[[CNN]]|access-date=May 10, 2018|archive-date=May 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511150344/https://www.cnn.com/2013/06/17/justice/scotus-voter-registration-ruling/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> O'Connor hired a law clerk for the October 2015 term, but did not hire a law clerk for the subsequent term.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://abovethelaw.com/2015/07/supreme-court-clerk-hiring-watch-who-is-not-retiring-from-scotus/|title=Supreme Court Clerk Hiring Watch: Who Is NOT Retiring From SCOTUS?|last=Lat|first=David|date=July 8, 2015|work=Above the Law|access-date=May 10, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151024/https://abovethelaw.com/2015/07/supreme-court-clerk-hiring-watch-who-is-not-retiring-from-scotus/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://abovethelaw.com/2016/07/supreme-court-clerk-hiring-watch-the-official-list-for-ot-2016/|title=Supreme Court Clerk Hiring Watch: The Official List|last=Lat|first=David|date=July 22, 2016|work=Above the Law|access-date=May 10, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151035/https://abovethelaw.com/2016/07/supreme-court-clerk-hiring-watch-the-official-list-for-ot-2016/|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:O'Connor, Sotomayor, Ginsburg, and Kagan.jpg|thumb|right|The first four women Supreme Court justices: O'Connor, [[Sonia Sotomayor]], [[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]], and [[Elena Kagan]], 2010]]

O'Connor was elected as an honorary fellow of the [[National Academy of Public Administration (United States)|National Academy of Public Administration]] in 2005.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Academy of Public Administration |url=https://napawash.org/fellow/15259 |access-date=April 21, 2023 |website=[[National Academy of Public Administration (United States)|National Academy of Public Administration]] |language=en |archive-date=March 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329114542/https://napawash.org/fellow/15259 |url-status=live }}</ref> In October that year,   O'Connor accepted the largely ceremonial role of becoming the 23rd Chancellor of the [[College of William & Mary]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The College of William and Mary announcement of O'Connor's appointment to Chancellor post|url=http://www.wm.edu/news/index.php?id=5234&readMore=true|access-date=November 18, 2005|archive-date=January 1, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060101123743/http://www.wm.edu/news/index.php?id=5234&readMore=true|url-status=live}}</ref> O'Connor continued in the role until 2012.<ref name="Whitson">{{cite web|last=Whitson|first=Brian|title=Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates '65 to Serve as W&M Chancellor|url=http://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2011/former-defense-secretary-robert-gates-65-to-serve-as-wm-chancellor-123.php|publisher=[[College of William & Mary]]|access-date=September 6, 2011|archive-date=September 26, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926154257/http://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2011/former-defense-secretary-robert-gates-65-to-serve-as-wm-chancellor-123.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Haag-2018" /> O'Connor was a member of the 2006 [[Iraq Study Group]], appointed by the U.S. Congress.<ref>{{cite web|title=Iraq Study Group Members|url=http://www.usip.org/isg/members.html| access-date=November 10, 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061108223545/http://www.usip.org/isg/members.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = November 8, 2006}}</ref> From 2006, she was a trustee on the board of the [[Rockefeller Foundation]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Sandra Day O'Connor |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/justices/oconnor.bio.clr.html |website=cornell.edu |access-date=March 15, 2020 |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806213022/https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/justices/oconnor.bio.clr.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=O'Connor to Join Foundation Board |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/04/washington/oconnor-to-join-foundation-board.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 4, 2006 |access-date=March 15, 2020 |archive-date=November 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201121015854/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/04/washington/oconnor-to-join-foundation-board.html |url-status=live}}</ref> O'Connor chaired the [[Jamestown 2007]] celebration, commemorating the 400th anniversary of the founding of the colony at [[Jamestown, Virginia]], in 1607.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} The Sandra Day O'Connor Project on the State of the Judiciary, named for O'Connor, held annual conferences from 2006 through 2008 on the independence of the judiciary.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Greenhouse|first=Linda|date=June 2008|title=Independence: why & from what?|url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A189537182/GPS?sid=wikipedia|journal=Daedalus|volume=137|issue=4|pages=5–7|doi=10.1162/daed.2008.137.4.5|s2cid=57559095|via=Biography in Context|doi-access=free}}</ref> O'Connor was a member of both the [[American Philosophical Society]] and the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]].<ref name="Weisman-1981" /><ref name="O'Connor" />

==== Teaching ====
In 2006, O'Connor taught a course on the Supreme Court at the [[University of Arizona]]'s [[James E. Rogers College of Law]] as a distinguished jurist in residence.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sandra Day O'Connor to Teach at UA |url=https://uanews.arizona.edu/story/sandra-day-oconnor-teach-ua |website=uanews.arizona.edu |date=June 23, 2005 |publisher=The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona |access-date=March 15, 2020 |archive-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151023/https://news.arizona.edu/story/sandra-day-oconnor-teach-ua |url-status=live }}</ref> On April 5, 2006, [[Arizona State University]] named its law school the [[Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law]] in her honor.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/arizona-republic-asu-welcomes-oconnor-w/136103807/ |title=ASU welcomes O'Connor with renaming of law college |date=April 6, 2006 |newspaper=[[The Tempe Republic]] |page=10 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=December 1, 2023 |archive-date=December 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207112832/https://www.newspapers.com/article/arizona-republic-asu-welcomes-oconnor-w/136103807/ |url-status=live }}{{Open access}}</ref>

==== Publishing ====
{{external media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?311561-1/out-order Presentation by O'Connor on ''Out of Order'', March 18, 2013], [[C-SPAN]]| video2 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?321139-16/interview-sandra-day-oconnor Interview with O'Connor on ''Out of Order'', August 30, 2014], [[C-SPAN]]}}
O'Connor wrote the 2013 book ''Out of Order: Stories from the History of the Supreme Court''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/05/books/sandra-day-oconnors-out-of-order.html|title=Bumpy Start for a Court Cloaked in Grandeur|date=March 4, 2013|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 4, 2013|archive-date=March 7, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130307111126/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/05/books/sandra-day-oconnors-out-of-order.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Public speaking engagements ====
On May 15, 2006, O'Connor gave the commencement address at the [[William & Mary School of Law]], where she said that judicial independence is "under serious attack at both the state and national level".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.wm.edu/law/cnews/show_news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1147725549&archive=&start_from=&ucat=3&|title=Maintain Judicial Independence O'Connor Tells Law Graduates|author=Whitson, Brian|access-date=September 19, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060908210008/http://www.wm.edu/law/cnews/show_news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1147725549&archive=&start_from=&ucat=3&|archive-date=September 8, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2008, O'Connor was named an inaugural [[Harry Rathbun]] Visiting Fellow by the Office for Religious Life at [[Stanford University]]. On April 22, 2008, she gave "Harry's Last Lecture on a Meaningful Life" in honor of the former Stanford Law professor who shaped her undergraduate and law careers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stanford.edu/group/religiouslife/eventsRathbun.html|title=Office for Religious Life at Stanford University|access-date=April 23, 2008|archive-date=July 26, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726214456/http://www.stanford.edu/group/religiouslife/eventsRathbun.html|url-status=live}}</ref> On September 17, 2014, O'Connor appeared on the television show ''[[Jeopardy!]]'' and provided a couple of video answers to the category 'Supreme Court' which appeared on the show. On the same day in [[Concord, New Hampshire]], she gave a talk alongside her former colleague [[Justice David Souter]] about the importance of meaningful civics education in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.constitutionallyspeakingnh.org|title=Constitutionally Speaking New Hampshire|publisher=Constitutionallyspeakingnh.org|access-date=November 2, 2015|archive-date=November 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107005138/http://www.constitutionallyspeakingnh.org/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Non-profits and philanthropic activity ====
In February 2009, O'Connor launched Our Courts, a website she created to offer interactive civics lessons to students and teachers because she was concerned about the lack of knowledge among most young Americans about how their government works. She also served as a co-chair with [[Lee H. Hamilton]] for the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.civicmissionofschools.org/the-campaign/campaign-steering-committee|title=Campaign Steering Committee|publisher=Civicmissionofschools.org|access-date=November 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151024064553/http://www.civicmissionofschools.org/the-campaign/campaign-steering-committee|archive-date=October 24, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> On March 3, 2009, O'Connor appeared on the [[news satire|satirical]] television program ''[[The Daily Show]]'' with [[Jon Stewart]] to promote the website. In August 2009, the website added two online interactive games.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.edweek.org/login.html?source=http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/08/20/01civics.h29.html&destination=http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/08/20/01civics.h29.html&levelId=2100|title=Celebrities Lend Weight to Promote Civics Education|author=Zehr, Mary Ann|date=August 25, 2009|work=[[Education Week]]|access-date=September 1, 2009|archive-date=August 28, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090828095344/http://www.edweek.org/login.html?source=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edweek.org%2Few%2Farticles%2F2009%2F08%2F20%2F01civics.h29.html&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edweek.org%2Few%2Farticles%2F2009%2F08%2F20%2F01civics.h29.html&levelId=2100|url-status=live}}</ref> The initiative expanded, becoming [[iCivics]] in May 2010 offering free lesson plans, games, and interactive videogames for middle and high school educators.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icivics.org/About|title=iCivics (formerly Our Courts) homepage|access-date=December 19, 2010|archive-date=October 1, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101001211256/http://www.icivics.org/About|url-status=live}}</ref> By 2015, the iCivics games had 72,000 teachers as registered users and its games had been played 30 million times.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/04/14/oconnor-civics-games-legacy/25505871/|title=Sandra Day O'Connor's post-court legacy: Civics games|last=Toppo|first=Greg|date=April 14, 2015|website=USA Today|language=en|access-date=September 3, 2019|archive-date=September 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903020308/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/04/14/oconnor-civics-games-legacy/25505871/|url-status=live}}</ref>

O'Connor served on the board of trustees of the [[National Constitution Center]] in Philadelphia, a museum dedicated to the U.S. Constitution.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.constitutioncenter.org/ncc_about_Board_of_Trustees.aspx|title=National Constitution Center, Board of Trustees|date=July 26, 2010|work=National Constitution Center Web Site|publisher=National Constitution Center|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615033447/http://constitutioncenter.org/ncc_about_Board_of_Trustees.aspx|archive-date=June 15, 2010|url-status=dead|access-date=July 27, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://constitutioncenter.org:80/about/board-of-trustees|title=Board of Trustees – National Constitution Center|website=constitutioncenter.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151024091512/http://constitutioncenter.org/about/board-of-trustees|archive-date=October 24, 2015|url-status=dead|access-date=May 16, 2018}}</ref> By November 2015, O'Connor had transitioned to being a trustee emeritus for the center.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://constitutioncenter.org:80/about/board-of-trustees/|title=Board of Trustees – National Constitution Center|website=constitutioncenter.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107064352/http://constitutioncenter.org/about/board-of-trustees/|archive-date=November 7, 2015|url-status=dead|access-date=May 16, 2018}}</ref> In April 2013, the board of directors of [[Justice at Stake]], a national judicial reform advocacy organization, announced that O'Connor would be joining the organization as honorary chair.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.justiceatstake.org/newsroom/press-releases-16824/?supreme_court_justice_sandra_day_oconnor_joins_justice_at_stake_as_honorary_chair&show=news&newsID=16396|title=Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor Joins Justice at Stake as Honorary Chair|date=April 15, 2013|publisher=Justiceatstake.org|access-date=November 2, 2015|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304224728/http://www.justiceatstake.org/newsroom/press-releases-16824/?supreme_court_justice_sandra_day_oconnor_joins_justice_at_stake_as_honorary_chair&show=news&newsID=16396|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2009, O'Connor founded the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization now known as the [[Sandra Day O'Connor Institute]]. Its programs are dedicated to promoting civil discourse, civic engagement, and civics education.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://arizonanonprofits.org/members/?id=42354572|title=Sandra Day O'Connor Institute – Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits|website=arizonanonprofits.org|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180510184142/http://arizonanonprofits.org/members/?id%3D42354572|archive-date=May 10, 2018|url-status=dead|access-date=May 10, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://oconnorinstitute.org/about/civic-duty-mission/|title=A Mission of Civic Duty and Knowledge – The O'Connor Institute|website=Sandra Day O'Connor Institute|access-date=February 17, 2020|archive-date=February 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217235450/https://oconnorinstitute.org/about/civic-duty-mission/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, her former [[adobe]] [[Sandra Day O'Connor House|residence in Arizona]], curated by the O'Connor Institute, was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=O'Sullivan|first=Serena|title=Sandra Day O'Connor's house in Tempe added to the National Register of Historic Places|url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/tempe/2019/07/19/sandra-day-oconnors-house-added-in-tempe-national-register-historic-places/1779271001/|access-date=July 9, 2020|website=The Arizona Republic|language=en-US|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151023/https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/tempe/2019/07/19/sandra-day-oconnors-house-added-in-tempe-national-register-historic-places/1779271001/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2022, the Institute launched Civics for Life, its multigenerational digital platform.<ref>{{Cite web|title=O'Connor U launched by Sandra Day O'Connor Institute|url=https://www.yourvalley.net/stories/sandra-day-oconnor-institute-launches-oconnor-u,161280|access-date=July 9, 2020|website=Your Valley|date=May 27, 2020 |language=en|archive-date=June 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200619132418/https://www.yourvalley.net/stories/sandra-day-oconnor-institute-launches-oconnor-u,161280|url-status=live}}</ref>

O'Connor was a member and president of the [[Junior League]] of Phoenix.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sandra Day O'Connor, The Junior League of Phoenix|url=https://www.ajli.org/?nd=p-do-civldr-bio-sandra-day-oconnor|website=ajli.org|access-date=October 24, 2018|archive-date=October 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024232503/https://www.ajli.org/?nd=p-do-civldr-bio-sandra-day-oconnor|url-status=live}}</ref>

O'Connor was a founding co-chair of the National Advisory Board at the National Institute for Civil Discourse (NICD).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nicd.arizona.edu/members/sandra-day-oconnor|title=Sandra Day O'Connor|date=January 23, 2012|website=National Institute for Civil Discourse|language=en|access-date=September 3, 2019|archive-date=September 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903020319/https://nicd.arizona.edu/members/sandra-day-oconnor|url-status=live}}</ref> The institute was created at the University of Arizona after the [[2011 Tucson shooting|2011 shooting]] of former Congresswoman [[Gabby Giffords]] that killed six people and wounded 13 others.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nicd.arizona.edu/about|title=About|date=July 5, 2015|website=National Institute for Civil Discourse|language=en|access-date=September 3, 2019|archive-date=September 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903020323/https://nicd.arizona.edu/about|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Personal life, illness and death==
Upon her appointment to the Supreme Court, O'Connor and her husband moved to the [[Kalorama Heights|Kalorama]] area of Washington, D.C. The O'Connors became active in the Washington, D.C. social scene. O'Connor played tennis and golf in her spare time.<ref name="Kamen-1989" /> She was a [[baptized]] member of the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/03/29/how-sandra-day-oconnor-became-the-most-powerful-woman-in-1980s-america/|title=How Sandra Day O'Connor became the most powerful woman in 1980s America|newspaper=The Washington Post|language=en|access-date=October 6, 2018|archive-date=March 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160330063935/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/03/29/how-sandra-day-oconnor-became-the-most-powerful-woman-in-1980s-america/|url-status=live}}</ref>

O'Connor was successfully [[Breast cancer management|treated for breast cancer]] in 1988, and she also had her [[Vermiform appendix|appendix]] [[Appendectomy|removed]] that year.<ref>"O'Connor Has Breast Surgery To Stop Cancer", ''The New York Times'', Linda Greenhouse. October 22, 1988.</ref> That same year, John O'Connor left the Washington, D.C., law firm of Miller & Chevalier for a practice that required him to split his time between Washington, D.C. and Phoenix.<ref name="Kamen-1989" />

Her husband suffered from [[Alzheimer's disease]] for nearly 20 years, until his death in 2009,<ref name="The Washington Post-2009" /> and she became involved in raising awareness of the disease. After retiring from the Court, O'Connor moved back to Phoenix, Arizona.<ref name="Heilpern-2013" />

Around 2013, O'Connor's friends and colleagues noticed that she was becoming more forgetful and less talkative.<ref name="Thomas-2019" />{{Rp|399–400}} By 2017, back problems led to her needing to use a wheelchair, and to her moving to an assisted living facility.<ref name="Thomas-2019" />{{Rp|401}} In October 2018, O'Connor announced her effective retirement from public life after disclosing that she had been diagnosed with the early stages of [[dementia]].<ref name="Haag-2018" />

On May 7, 2016, her younger sister, [[Ann Day]], was killed in a car accident in [[Tucson, Arizona]], as a result of a collision with a drunk driver.<ref name="Ann">{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sister-of-former-supreme-court-justice-oconnor-killed-in-arizona-car-crash/|title=Sister of former Supreme Court Justice O'Connor killed in Arizona car crash|publisher=Fox News|date=May 8, 2016}}</ref>

On December 1, 2023, O'Connor died in Phoenix, at the age of 93, due to complications related to advanced dementia and a [[respiratory illness]].<ref>{{cite web |date=December 1, 2023 |title=Sandra Day O'Connor, the first female Supreme Court justice, dead at 93 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/sandra-day-oconnor-dead-dies-rcna127589 |access-date=December 1, 2023 |publisher=NBC News |archive-date=December 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207112805/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/sandra-day-oconnor-dead-dies-rcna127589 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NYT1">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/01/us/sandra-day-oconnor-dead.html |title=Sandra Day O'Connor, First Woman on the Supreme Court, Is Dead at 93 |last=Greenhouse |first=Linda |date=December 1, 2023 |access-date=December 1, 2023 |newspaper=The New York Times |url-access=limited |archive-date=December 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231201171539/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/01/us/sandra-day-oconnor-dead.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=de Vogue |first=Ariane |title=Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, first woman on the Supreme Court, dies |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/01/politics/justice-sandra-day-oconnor-first-woman-on-the-supreme-court-dies/index.html |publisher=CNN |date=December 2023 |access-date=December 1, 2023}}</ref> After her death, Chief Justice [[John Roberts]] called her "an eloquent advocate for civil education" and a "fiercely independent defender of the rule of law" in a public statement.<ref name="The Guardian death">{{cite web|last1=Olapido|first1=Gloria|last2=Pengelly|first2=Martin|date=December 1, 2023|title=Sandra Day O'Connor, first woman to serve on US Supreme Court, dies aged 93|website=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/01/sandra-day-o-connor-dead-first-woman-supreme-court-justice|access-date=December 1, 2023|archive-date=December 1, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231201185930/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/01/sandra-day-o-connor-dead-first-woman-supreme-court-justice|url-status=live}}</ref> President [[Joe Biden]] said she was an "American icon", dedicated to public service and the "bedrock American principle of an independent judiciary".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Alafriz |first=Olivia |date=2023-12-02 |title='American icon': Biden pays tribute to Sandra Day O'Connor |language=en |work=Politico |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/02/biden-sandra-day-oconnor-tribute-00129759 |access-date=2023-12-03 |archive-date=December 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203144953/https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/02/biden-sandra-day-oconnor-tribute-00129759 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[iCivics]] board chairman Larry Kramer said that O'Connor was "kind and generous" and relayed that iCivics was her "brainchild".<ref name="The Guardian death" />

O'Connor [[lay in repose]] in the Great Hall of the Supreme Court on December 18, 2023.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Barnes |first1=Robert |title=Justice O'Connor to lie in repose at Supreme Court on Dec. 18 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/12/05/supreme-court-oconnor-repose/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=5 December 2023}}</ref> She was memorialized the following day in a funeral service held at the [[Washington National Cathedral]].<ref>{{cite news |title=O'Connor, a Daughter of the American West, is honored in Washington |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/19/us/politics/sandra-day-oconnor-memorial.html |work=The New York Times |date=December 19, 2023 |access-date=19 December 2023 |last1=Vansickle |first1=Abbie }}</ref>

==Legacy and awards==
{{main|List of awards and honors received by Sandra Day O'Connor}}

O'Connor was particularly remembered for being the first woman on the Court, and for functioning as the swing vote in the 5–4 decision in ''[[Bush v. Gore]]'', which handed the presidency to George W. Bush.<ref name=JacksonGuardian>{{cite news|last=Jackson|first=Harold|title=Sandra Day O'Connor obituary|url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/dec/01/sandra-day-oconnor-obituary|work=The Guardian|access-date=December 3, 2023|archive-date=December 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203111154/https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/dec/01/sandra-day-oconnor-obituary|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=YousifBBC>{{cite news|last=Yousif|first=Nadine|title=Ex-Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor dies aged 93|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67593879|work=BBC News|access-date=December 3, 2023|archive-date=December 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203111154/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67593879|url-status=live}}</ref>
Overall, she began her tenure on the court as a Reaganite but would later attempt to steer the court toward decisions that better aligned with public opinion.<ref name=NYT1/><ref name=LithwickSlate>{{cite news|last1=Lithwick|first1=Dahlia| author-link2 = Mark Joseph Stern | last2 = Stern |first2=Mark Joseph|title=The Sad Ending of Sandra Day O'Connor's Judicial Legacy|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/12/sandra-day-oconnor-obit-sad-legacy.html|work=Slate|access-date=December 3, 2023|archive-date=December 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203104236/https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/12/sandra-day-oconnor-obit-sad-legacy.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Some argue that O'Connor's jurisprudential legacy was largely undone by the appointment of Samuel Alito as her successor.<ref name=LiptakNYT>{{cite news|last=Liptak|first=Adam|title=Justice O'Connor's Judicial Legacy Was Undermined by Court's Rightward Shift|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/01/us/politics/justice-oconnor-legacy-abortion.html|work=The New York Times|date=December 2023 |access-date=December 3, 2023|archive-date=December 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203104410/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/01/us/politics/justice-oconnor-legacy-abortion.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=LithwickSlate />

In March 2019, historian and journalist Evan Thomas published a memoir detailing O'Connor's life, pulling from interviews and her archives, and becoming a ''New York Times'' Bestseller and finalist for the ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/18/books/review/evan-thomas-first-sandra-day-oconnor.html |title=An Intimate Portrait of Sandra Day O'Connor, First Woman on the Supreme Court |work=The New York Times |last=Toobin |first=Jeffrey |date=March 18, 2019 |access-date=May 26, 2025 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Arizona|Biography|Law|Politics}}
{{colbegin}}
* [[List of justices of the Supreme Court of the United States]]
* [[List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 8)]]
* [[List of United States Supreme Court justices by time in office]]
* [[List of United States federal judges by longevity of service]]
* [[List of United States Supreme Court cases by the Burger Court|United States Supreme Court cases during the Burger Court]]
* [[List of United States Supreme Court cases by the Rehnquist Court|United States Supreme Court cases during the Rehnquist Court]]
* [[List of United States Supreme Court cases by the Roberts Court|United States Supreme Court cases during the Roberts Court]]
* [[List of female state supreme court justices]]
{{colend}}

==Explanatory notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Greenburg |first=Jan Crawford |year=2007 |title=Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the United States Supreme Court |publisher=Penguin Books}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{external media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?189492-1/sandra-day-oconnor Presentation by Biskupic on ''Sandra Day O'Connor'', October 23, 2005], [[C-SPAN]]| video2 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?459098-14/first-sandra-dayoconnor Interview with Thomas on ''First'', April 6, 2019], [[C-SPAN]]}}
* {{cite report |date=September 1981 |title=Nomination of Judge Sandra Day O'Connor of Arizona to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States |url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-CHRG-OCONNOR/pdf/GPO-CHRG-OCONNOR.pdf |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office}}
* [[Joan Biskupic|Biskupic, Joan]]. ''Sandra Day O'Connor: How the First Woman on the Supreme Court Became Its Most Influential Justice'' (2005), biography
* Flowers, Prudence. {{"'}}A Prolife Disaster': The Reagan Administration and the Nomination of Sandra Day O'Connor". ''Journal of Contemporary History'' 53.2 (2018): 391–414. {{JSTOR|26416694}}.
* Montini, E. J. (2005). [https://www.azcentral.com/news/columns/articles/0712montini12.html?&wired "Rehnquist is No. 1, O'Connor is No. 3, Baloney is No. 2"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322211005/http://www.azcentral.com/news/columns/articles/0712montini12.html?&wired |date=March 22, 2016 }} ''[[The Arizona Republic]]''. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
* {{Cite book|title=Lazy B: Growing Up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest|author1=O'Connor, Sandra Day|author2=Day, H. Alan|name-list-style=amp|year=2002|publisher=[[Random House]]|isbn=0-375-50724-8|url=https://archive.org/details/lazybgrowingupo000ocon}}, a primary source
* [[Evan Thomas|Thomas, Evan]]. ''First: Sandra Day O'Connor'' (2019) Random House, authorized biography

==External links==
{{Sister project links|auto=yes}}
{{Library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooksby=yes|lcheading= O'Connor, Sandra Day, 1930–}}
* {{C-SPAN|1300}}
* [http://www.OnTheIssues.org/Sandra_Day_O_Connor.htm Issue positions and quotes] at [[OnTheIssues]]

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{{SCOTUS Justices}}
{{Sandra Day O'Connor opinions}}
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{{College of William & Mary chancellors}}
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