This was published in 2021 to mark the 40th anniversary of Sandra Day O’Connor taking a seat on the Supreme Court.
Forty years ago this Saturday, on Sept. 25, 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor took her seat on the Supreme Court.
Most people in the United States today were not yet born on that early fall afternoon when Sandra O’Connor took the oath of office and ended 191 years of an all-male Supreme Court.
The history of her appointment is not the only reason to think today about Sandra O’Connor, who retired 15 years ago and is now, at 91, living with dementia.
At a time when the Supreme Court’s behavior seems to embody and even to amplify the country’s polarization, it’s worth reflecting on the path she took during her quarter-century on the court.
Persons:
Sandra Day O’Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sandra O’Connor, Ronald Reagan, —, O’Connor, John F, Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson
Locations:
United States