Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor testifies during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on "Ensuring Judicial Independence Through Civics Education" on Wednesday, July 25, 2012.
Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman to serve as a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, has died.
She died in Phoenix, Arizona, on Friday "of complications related to advanced dementia, probably Alzheimer's, and a respiratory illness," the Supreme Court said in a statement.
O'Connor was appointed to the court in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan, and served nearly a quarter-century, retiring in 2006.
O'Connor had co-authored the majority opinion in the latter case, which Alito blasted for having "enflamed debate and deepened division" in the United States.
Persons:
Sandra Day O'Connor, O'Connor, Ronald Reagan, Samuel Alito, Roe, Casey . O'Connor, Alito
Organizations:
Civics, U.S, Supreme, Wade
Locations:
Phoenix , Arizona, United States