For nearly a quarter-century, Sandra Day O’Connor , who died Friday at age 93, was perhaps the most powerful woman in America, often casting the deciding vote when her Supreme Court colleagues divided 4-4 along ideological lines.
Her decisions on issues including abortion, affirmative action, voting rights and the line between church and state often reflected a pragmatic middle ground that frequently aligned with mainstream public opinion.
O’Connor’s retirement in 2006 sent the court in a new direction.
Republican presidents selected justices devoted to formal theories that seek constitutional fealty regardless of contemporary social values.
Where O’Connor took each case as it came, today’s majority views the litigation before it as part of a larger struggle over the Constitution’s meaning.
Persons:
Sandra Day O’Connor, O’Connor
Locations:
America