One adjective was invoked more than any other to describe Sandra Day O’Connor immediately after her death at 93 on Friday: “trailblazing.”Justice O’Connor, the first woman on the United States Supreme Court, paved the way for generations of women in politics and law.
Raised on a remote Arizona ranch, Justice O’Connor was remembered as much for being first as for her rugged independence on the court.
Shortly after her death was announced by the Supreme Court, public figures from across the political spectrum praised Justice O’Connor on social media for her fearlessness, both in crashing through the judiciary’s glass ceiling and in casting swing votes on some of the nation’s most polarizing cultural issues, including abortion and affirmative action.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., a fellow conservative whose voting record on the court often echoes Justice O’Connor’s, praised her on Friday as a “fiercely independent defender of the rule of law.”
Persons:
Sandra Day O’Connor, “, O’Connor, John G, Roberts, Justice O’Connor’s, ”
Organizations:
United States Supreme, Supreme
Locations:
Arizona