Sandra Day O'Connor: From Ranch Girl to the Queen of the Court

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first female justice on the US Supreme Court, faced ambivalent reactions to her successor's nomination. Throughout her 26-year term, O'Connor felt the weight of the historic expectations placed on her. As a conservative justice, she constantly had to prove herself better than men and on the side of women. With her political acumen and moderate ideology, O'Connor became a decisive swing vote in a court divided between conservative and liberal justices. She played a significant role in contentious decisions on abortion rights and the disputed 2000 presidential election. O'Connor's legacy was carried on by the second female justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Despite not having a nickname or a cult following, O'Connor held immense power on the court and was considered one of the most powerful women in the country. Her upbringing in an isolated cattle ranch in the Arizona desert shaped her independent, hard-working, and self-sufficient character. O'Connor's path to the Supreme Court was filled with roadblocks due to sexism, but she persevered, setting up her own legal practice and taking on various volunteer activities. Her break in the legal profession allowed her to focus on raising her three sons. O'Connor's rise in politics and law eventually led to her nomination to the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan in 1981. She brought a pragmatic approach to the court, prioritizing the effective functioning of the legal system and interpreting laws and constitutional provisions accordingly. However, with the conservative shift of the court, O'Connor started to break ranks more often, particularly on matters of equality and civil rights. Despite her personal abhorrence of abortion, she voted to affirm Roe v Wade and allow more state regulations on the procedure. One of O'Connor's most controversial decisions was Bush v Gore in 2000, where she voted with the majority to halt any legal challenges to the election results, leading to George W. Bush becoming president. O'Connor's retirement in 2006 disappointed her, as the conservative-leaning court undermined some of her compromises on abortion rights and campaign finance. After retirement, she dedicated herself to civic education projects, including iCivics, which uses gaming technology to teach students about the US government. In 2018, O'Connor announced that she had been diagnosed with the early stages of dementia, possibly Alzheimer's disease. Her legacy extends beyond being the first woman justice, as she played a significant role in advancing gender equality, constitutional law, and civic education. O'Connor's intentions were simple: to be a good person and do good things. As she once stated, "Here lies a good judge" would be a fitting legacy for her.