Sandra Day O'Connor: The first female Supreme Court Justice
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Sandra Day O'Connor became the first woman to serve as a justice on the United States Supreme Court in 1981.
O'Connor spent part of her childhood on her family's Arizona ranch and was adept at horseback riding and assisted with various ranch duties. After graduating from Stanford University in 1950 with a bachelor's degree in economics, she attended the university's law school. She received her degree in 1952 and worked in California and Frankfurt, Germany, before settling in Arizona where she worked as the assistant attorney general in the 1960s. In 1969 Arizona Governor Jack Williams appointed O'Connor to the state senate to fill a vacancy. She won re-election twice. In 1974 she ran for the position of judge in the Maricopa County Superior Court and in 1979 she was selected to serve on the state's court of appeals. Two years later, President Ronald Reagan nominated her for associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. O'Connor received unanimous approval from the U.S. Senate.
As a member of the court, Sandra Day O'Connor was considered to be a moderate conservative. She tended to vote in line with her politically conservative view, but her careful consideration of cases was not doctrinaire. In opposition to the Republican call to reverse the Roe v. Wade decision on abortion rights, O'Connor provided the vote needed to uphold the court's earlier decision. She was known for her focus on the letter of the law and voted for what she believed best fit the intentions of the U.S. Constitution.
Sandra Day O'Connor retired from the court on January 31, 2006.Further details on her career can be found at the U.S. Supreme Court website.