Sandra Day O'Connor: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|US Supreme Court justice from 1981 to 2006}}

{{Use American English|date=February 2022}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}

| term_end            = January 31, 2006<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/biographies.aspx#SOConnor |title=Current Members |website=www.supremecourt.gov|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206002438/https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/biographies.aspx|archive-date=February 6, 2020|access-date=February 17, 2020}}</ref><ref>"The date a Member of the Court took his/her Judicial oath (the Judiciary Act provided 'That the Justices of the Supreme Court, and the district judges, before they proceed to execute the duties of their respective offices, shall take the following oath ...') is here used as the date of the beginning of his/her service, for until that oath is taken he/she is not vested with the prerogatives of the office." Source: [https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/members_text.aspx About the Court > Justices > Justices 1789 to Present];

{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100415034624/https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/members_text.aspx |date=April 15, 2010 }}</ref>

| successor2          = [[Sarah D. Grant]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.azcourts.gov/coa1/Former-Judges |title=Archived copy |access-date=February 20, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160212162439/http://www.azcourts.gov/coa1/Former-Judges |archive-date=February 12, 2016 }}</ref>

| successor3          = Cecil Patterson<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/LawLibrary/docs/PDF/Judges/SuperiorCourtJudgesrev4.pdf |title=Judges of the Superior Court Of Arizona in Maricopa County |date=November 2005 |website=ww.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov |access-date=May 26, 2017 |archive-date=October 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026075628/https://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/LawLibrary/docs/PDF/Judges/SuperiorCourtJudgesrev4.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

| term_start4        = January 8, 1973

| constituency4      = 24th district

| death_date          =

| death_place        =

'''Sandra Day O'Connor''' (born March 26, 1930) is an American retired attorney and politician who served as the first female [[associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States]] from 1981 to 2006. She was both the first woman nominated and the first confirmed to the court.<ref name=":19">{{cite news |last=Weisman |first=Steven R. |date=July 7, 1981 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0707.html |title=Reagan Nominating Woman, an Arizona Appeals Judge, to Serve on Supreme Court |work=The New York Times |access-date=September 10, 2009 |archive-date=October 11, 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001011030850/https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0707.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Nominated by President [[Ronald Reagan]], she was considered the [[swing vote]] for the [[Rehnquist Court]] and the first few months of the [[Roberts Court]].

Prior to O'Connor's tenure on the Court, she was a judge and an elected official in [[Arizona]], serving as the first female majority leader of a state senate as the Republican leader in the [[Arizona Senate]].<ref name=":20">{{Cite news|title=O'Connor, Sandra Day |publisher=[[Federal Judicial Center]] |url=http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetInfo?jid=1796 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040306042155/http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetInfo?jid=1796 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 6, 2004 |access-date=March 21, 2006 }}</ref> Upon her nomination to the Court, O'Connor was confirmed unanimously by the [[United States Senate|Senate]]. On July 1, 2005, she announced her intention to retire effective upon the confirmation of a successor.<ref>{{cite news |last=Stevenson |first=R. W. |date=July 1, 2005 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/01/politics/01cnd-oconnor.html |title=O'Connor, First Woman Supreme Court Justice, Resigns After 24 Years |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=September 10, 2005 |archive-date=May 1, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501221142/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/01/politics/01cnd-oconnor.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Samuel Alito]] was nominated to take her seat in October 2005 and joined the Court on January 31, 2006.

O'Connor most frequently sided with the Court's conservative bloc. She often wrote concurring opinions that sought to limit the reach of the majority holding. Her majority opinions in landmark cases include ''[[Grutter v. Bollinger]]'' and ''[[Hamdi v. Rumsfeld]]''. She also wrote in part the ''[[per curiam]]'' majority opinion in ''[[Bush v. Gore]]'', and was one of three co-authors of the lead opinion in ''[[Planned Parenthood v. Casey]]''.

During her time on the Court, some publications ranked O'Connor among the most powerful women in the world.<ref>{{Cite news |first=John |last=McCaslin |title=Power Women |url=http://www.townhall.com/columnists/JohnMcCaslin/2001/11/07/mccaslins_beltway_beat |work=McCaslin's Beltway Beat |publisher=[[Townhall.com]] |location=Washington, D.C. |date=November 7, 2001 |access-date=June 15, 2009 |quote=... ''[[Ladies' Home Journal]]'', ... ranks the 30 Most Powerful Women based on cultural clout, financial impact, achievement, visibility, influence, intellect, political know-how and staying power. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton ranks 5th on the list behind Miss Winfrey, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Martha Stewart and Barbara Walters |archive-date=April 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429085608/http://townhall.com/columnists/johnmccaslin/2001/11/07/mccaslins_beltway_beat |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/2004/08/18/04powomland.htmll|title=The World's Most Powerful Women|date=August 20, 2004|work=[[Forbes (magazine)|Forbes]]|access-date=March 4, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090315222213/http://www.forbes.com/2004/08/18/04powomland.htmll|archive-date=March 15, 2009 }}</ref> Upon leaving the Court, she succeeded [[Henry Kissinger]] as Chancellor of the [[College of William & Mary|College of William and Mary]]. On August 12, 2009, she was awarded the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] by President [[Barack Obama]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Presidential Medal of Freedom|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/presidential-medal-of-freedom/|access-date=February 11, 2021|website=www.cbsnews.com|language=en|archive-date=April 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409225457/https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/presidential-medal-of-freedom/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Sandra Day was born in [[El Paso, Texas]], the daughter of Harry Alfred Day, a [[ranch]]er, and Ada Mae (Wilkey).<ref>See {{cite web |url=https://www.oyez.org/justices/sandra_day_oconnor |title=Sandra Day O'Connor |website=Oyez |access-date=June 27, 2017 |archive-date=March 17, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317202723/https://www.oyez.org/justices/sandra_day_oconnor |url-status=live }}</ref> She grew up on a 198,000-acre [[cattle ranch]] near [[Duncan, Arizona]].<ref name=":5" /> The ranch was nine miles from the nearest paved road.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2013/04/sandra-day-oconnor-guns-assault-weapons|title=Sandra Day O'Connor on Growing Up with Guns and Her Views on Assault Weapons|last=Heilpern|first=John|date=April 2013|work=The Hive|access-date=August 24, 2017|language=en|archive-date=September 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923025143/http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2013/04/sandra-day-oconnor-guns-assault-weapons|url-status=live}}</ref> The family home did not have running water or electricity until Sandra was seven years old.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/03/29/how-sandra-day-oconnor-became-the-most-powerful-woman-in-1980s-america/|title=How Sandra Day O'Connor became the most powerful woman in 1980s America|last1=Kamen|first1=Al|last2=Williams|first2=Marjorie|date=June 11, 1989|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=October 29, 2017|archive-date=March 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160330063935/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/03/29/how-sandra-day-oconnor-became-the-most-powerful-woman-in-1980s-america/|url-status=live}}</ref> As a youth she owned a .22-caliber rifle and would shoot coyotes and jackrabbits.<ref name=":6" /> She began driving as soon as she could see over the dashboard and had to learn to change flat tires herself.<ref name=":5">"Book Discussion on ''Sisters in Law''{{-"}} Presenter: Linda Hirshman, author. Politics and Prose Bookstore. BookTV, Washington. September 3, 2015. 13 minutes in. Retrieved September 12, 2015 [http://www.c-span.org/video/?327947-1/linda-hirshman-sisters-law C-Span website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305042720/http://www.c-span.org/video/?327947-1%2Flinda-hirshman-sisters-law |date=March 5, 2016 }}</ref><ref name=":6" /> Sandra had two younger siblings, a sister and a brother, respectively eight and ten years her junior.<ref name=":11" /> Her sister was [[Ann Day]], who served in the [[Arizona Legislature]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kvoa.com/story/31916809/ann-day-dies-at-the-age-of-77|title=Former Pima County Supervisor Ann Day dies at the age of 77|first=News 4 Tucson|last=Staff|access-date=May 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509113130/http://www.kvoa.com/story/31916809/ann-day-dies-at-the-age-of-77|archive-date=May 9, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> She later wrote a book with her brother, H. Alan Day, ''Lazy B: Growing up on a Cattle Ranch in the American West'' (2002), about her childhood experiences on the ranch. For most of her early schooling, Day lived in El Paso with her [[grandparent|maternal grandmother]],<ref name=":11" /> and attended school at the Radford School for Girls, a private school.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/history/blogs/tales-from-the-morgue/2008/07/11/radfords-most-famous-alum/31477437/|title=Radford's most famous alumna drops in for a talk|last=Scanlon|first=Michael|date=May 13, 1987|website=El Paso Times|language=en|access-date=January 8, 2020|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151021/https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/history/blogs/tales-from-the-morgue/2008/07/11/radfords-most-famous-alum/31477437/|url-status=live}}</ref> The family cattle ranch was too far from any schools, although Day was able to return to the ranch for holidays and the summer.<ref name=":11" /> Day spent her eighth-grade year living at the ranch and riding a bus 32 miles to school.<ref name=":11" /> She graduated sixth in her class at [[Austin High School (El Paso, Texas)|Austin High School]] in [[El Paso]] in 1946.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://elpasotimes.typepad.com/morgue/2008/07/hometown-star-4.html |title=Hometown stars&nbsp;– Sandra Day O'Connor |date=July 2, 2005 |first=Diana |last=Washington Valdez |work=El Paso Times |access-date=December 19, 2010 |archive-date=April 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100425041934/http://elpasotimes.typepad.com/morgue/2008/07/hometown-star-4.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

When she was 16 years old, Day enrolled at [[Stanford University]].<ref name=":17">{{Cite book|last=Thomas|first=Evan|title=First: Sandra Day O'Connor|publisher=Random House|year=2019|isbn=978-0399589287|location=New York}}</ref>{{Rp|25}} She graduated ''[[magna cum laude]]'' with a [[B.A.]] in [[economics]] in 1950.<ref name=":14">{{Cite web|url=https://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/magazine/article/?article_id=33312|title=Front and Center|last=Cool|first=Kevin|date=January 1, 2006|website=Stanford Alumni Magazine|publisher=[[Stanford University]]|access-date=June 4, 2018|archive-date=May 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130503063118/https://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/magazine/article/?article_id=33312|url-status=live}}</ref> She continued at [[Stanford Law School]] for her law degree in 1952.<ref name=":14" /> There, she served on the ''[[Stanford Law Review]]'' with its presiding editor-in-chief, future [[Chief Justice of the United States|Supreme Court chief justice]] [[William Rehnquist]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,161325,00.html |publisher=Fox News Channel |title=Transcript: O'Connor on Fox |date=July 1, 2005 |access-date=December 18, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070523084030/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,161325,00.html |archive-date=May 23, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Day and Rehnquist dated in 1950.<ref name="Biskupic-SDO">[[Joan Biskupic|Biskupic, Joan]]. ''Sandra Day O'Connor: How the First Woman on the Supreme Court became its most influential justice''. New York: Harper Collins, 2005.</ref><ref name=":17" /> Although the relationship ended before Rehnquist graduated early and moved to [[Washington, D.C.]], he wrote to her in 1951 and proposed marriage.<ref name=":17" />{{Rp|37; 42}} Day did not accept the proposal from Rehnquist, one of four she received while a student at Stanford.<ref name=":17" />{{Rp|34}} Day was Order of the Coif, indicating she was in the top 10 percent of her class.<ref name=":17" />{{Rp|43}}{{efn|She has stated that she graduated third in her law school class,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amplify.com/viewpoints/q-supreme-court-justice-sandra-day-oconnor |title=Q & A: Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106204408/https://www.amplify.com/viewpoints/q-supreme-court-justice-sandra-day-oconnor |archive-date=November 6, 2018 |work=[[Amplify (company)|amplify.com]] |access-date=June 13, 2013 }}</ref> though Stanford's official position is that the law school did not rank students in 1952.<ref name="Kornmiller">{{cite web |first=Debbie |last=Kornmiller |url=http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/advocate/83283.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051206182451/http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/advocate/83283.php |archive-date=December 6, 2005 |title=O'Connor's class rank an error that will not die |work=[[Arizona Daily Star]] |date=July 10, 2005 |access-date=June 13, 2013 }}</ref>}} O'Connor was also made an honorary member of [[Phi Beta Kappa]] by the [[College of William and Mary]] in 2008.

While in her final year at Stanford Law School, Day began dating [[John Jay O'Connor|John Jay O'Connor III]] who was one class year behind her.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":17" />{{Rp|39–40}} Six months after her graduation, on December 20, 1952, Day and O'Connor married at her family's ranch.<ref name=":15">{{Cite news|url=https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/sandra-day-o-connor-s-peninsula-ties/article_f6d00d70-67a5-11e8-9bc3-a33b5eb945f0.html|title=Sandra Day O'Connor's Peninsula Ties|work=San Mateo Daily Journal|access-date=June 4, 2018|language=en|archive-date=June 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607162102/https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/sandra-day-o-connor-s-peninsula-ties/article_f6d00d70-67a5-11e8-9bc3-a33b5eb945f0.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":17" />{{Rp|50–51}}

Upon graduation from law school O'Connor had difficulty finding a paying job as an attorney because of her gender.<ref name=":16">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/23/us/politics/sandra-day-oconnor-dementia-alzheimers.html|title=Sandra Day O'Connor, First Woman on Supreme Court, Reveals Dementia Diagnosis|last=Haag|first=Matt|date=October 23, 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 26, 2018|language=en|archive-date=October 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025173900/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/23/us/politics/sandra-day-oconnor-dementia-alzheimers.html|url-status=live}}</ref> O'Connor found employment as a deputy county attorney in [[San Mateo, California]], after she offered to work for no salary and without an office, sharing space with a secretary.<ref name="freshair">{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2013/03/05/172982275/out-of-order-at-the-court-oconnor-on-being-the-first-female-justice|title='Out Of Order' At The Court: O'Connor On Being The First Female Justice|date=March 5, 2013|publisher=Fresh Air|access-date=March 5, 2013|archive-date=March 6, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306033357/http://www.npr.org/2013/03/05/172982275/out-of-order-at-the-court-oconnor-on-being-the-first-female-justice|url-status=live}}</ref> After a few months she began drawing a small salary as she performed legal research and wrote memos.<ref name=":17" />{{Rp|52}} She worked with San Mateo County district attorney Louis Dematteis and deputy district attorney Keith Sorensen.<ref name=":15" />

When her husband was drafted, O'Connor decided to pick up and go with him to work in [[Germany]] as a civilian attorney for the Army's [[Quartermaster Corps (United States Army)|Quartermaster Corps]].<ref>Baughman, J. (Ed.). (2001). O'Connor, Sandra Day 1930–. American Decades, 9. September 21, 2016.</ref> They remained there for three years before returning to the states where they settled in [[Maricopa County, Arizona]], to begin their family. They had three sons: Scott (born 1958), Brian (born 1960), and Jay (born 1962).<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/11/AR2009111119571.html|title=John J. O'Connor III, 79; husband of Supreme Court justice|date=November 12, 2009|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=October 4, 2012|archive-date=September 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913120148/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/11/AR2009111119571.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":11" /> Following Brian's birth, O'Connor took a five-year hiatus from the practice of law.<ref name=":11" />

She volunteered in various political organizations, such as the Maricopa County Young Republicans, and served on the presidential campaign for Arizona Senator [[Barry Goldwater|Barry M. Goldwater]] in 1964.<ref>Phelps, S. (Ed.). (2002). O'Connor, Sandra Day (1930– ). World of Criminal Justice, September 20, 2016.</ref><ref name=":11" />

O'Connor served as assistant [[Attorney General of Arizona]] from 1965 to 1969.<ref name=":11" /> In 1969, the governor of Arizona appointed O'Connor to fill a vacancy in the [[Arizona Senate]].<ref name=":11" /> She ran for and won the election for the seat the following year.<ref name=":11" /> By 1973, she became the first woman to serve as Arizona's or any state's [[Majority leader|Majority Leader]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://apps.azlibrary.gov/officials/Detail.aspx?ID=1047|title=LAPR – State Library of Arizona|website=apps.azlibrary.gov|access-date=March 31, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510102422/http://apps.azlibrary.gov/officials/Detail.aspx?ID=1047|archive-date=May 10, 2017}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/03/29/how-sandra-day-oconnor-became-the-most-powerful-woman-in-1980s-america/|title=How Sandra Day O'Connor became the most powerful woman in 1980s America|last1=Williams|first1=Marjorie|date=March 29, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=March 31, 2017|last2=Williams|first2=Marjorie|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=March 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160330063935/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/03/29/how-sandra-day-oconnor-became-the-most-powerful-woman-in-1980s-america/|url-status=live}}</ref> She developed a reputation as a skilled negotiator and a moderate. After serving two full terms, O'Connor decided to leave the Senate.<ref name=":1" />

In 1974, O'Connor was appointed to the Maricopa County Superior Court<ref>{{cite web|title=General Election Canvass, 1974, p. 5|url=http://www.azsos.gov/sites/azsos.gov/files/canvass1974ge.pdf|website=Arizona Secretary of State|access-date=February 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221031035/https://www.azsos.gov/sites/azsos.gov/files/canvass1974ge.pdf|archive-date=December 21, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> serving from 1975 to 1979 when she was elevated to the Arizona State Court of Appeals. She served on the Court of Appeals-Division One until 1981 when she was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.azcourts.gov/coa1/Former-Judges/SANDRA-D-OCONNOR|title=Sandra D. O'Connor|website=www.azcourts.gov|language=en-US|access-date=March 31, 2017|archive-date=December 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230005439/http://www.azcourts.gov/coa1/Former-Judges/SANDRA-D-OCONNOR|url-status=live}}</ref>

On July 7, 1981, Reagan&nbsp;– who had pledged during his [[1980 United States presidential election|1980 presidential campaign]] to appoint the first woman to the Court<ref name="presidential leadership">{{Cite book|title=Presidential Leadership|author1=James Taranto |author2=Leonard Leo |publisher=Wall Street Journal Books|year=2004|url= https://archive.org/details/presidentiallead00tara|url-access=registration|access-date=October 20, 2008 | isbn=978-0743272261}}</ref>&nbsp;– announced he would nominate O'Connor as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court to replace the retiring [[Potter Stewart]].<ref name="UPI-1981-Review">{{cite web |title=1981 Year in Review: Reagan Foreign Policy Speech/O'Connor Appointed to Supreme Court |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/Audio/Events-of-1988/Reagan-Foreign-Policy-Speach/OConnor-Appointed-to-Supreme-Court/ |access-date=June 29, 2019 |archive-date=June 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629183133/https://www.upi.com/Archives/Audio/Events-of-1988/Reagan-Foreign-Policy-Speach/OConnor-Appointed-to-Supreme-Court/ |url-status=live }}</ref> O'Connor received notification from President Reagan of her nomination on the day prior to the announcement and did not know that she was a finalist for the position.<ref name=freshair/>

Reagan wrote in his diary on July 6, 1981: "Called Judge O'Connor and told her she was my nominee for supreme court. Already the flak is starting and from my own supporters. Right to Life people say she is pro abortion. She declares abortion is personally repugnant to her. I think she'll make a good justice."<ref>[[Transcription (linguistics)|Transcript]] (January 30, 2008). {{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/30/GOPdebate.transcript/|title=Transcript of GOP debate at Reagan Library|date=June 30, 2008|publisher=CNN|access-date=August 27, 2009|archive-date=May 19, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100519132444/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/30/GOPdebate.transcript/|url-status=live}}</ref> O'Connor told Reagan she did not remember whether she had supported repealing Arizona's law banning abortion.<ref>{{harvp|Greenburg|2007|p=223}}</ref> However, she had cast a preliminary vote in the Arizona State Senate in 1970 in favor of a bill to repeal the state's criminal-abortion statute.<ref name="greenhouse 141">{{cite book |isbn=978-0805080575 |title=Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun's Supreme Court Journey |last1=Greenhouse |first1=Linda |year= 2006 |page=[https://archive.org/details/becomingjusticeb00gree/page/141 141] |url=https://archive.org/details/becomingjusticeb00gree/page/141 }}</ref> In 1974, O'Connor had opined against a measure to prohibit abortions in some Arizona hospitals.<ref name="greenhouse 141" /> [[Anti-abortion]] and [[Christian right|religious groups]] opposed O'Connor's nomination because they suspected, correctly, she would not be willing to overturn ''[[Roe v. Wade]].''<ref name="greenburg 222">{{harvp|Greenburg|2007|p=222}}</ref> U.S. Senate Republicans, including [[Don Nickles]] of [[Oklahoma]], [[Steve Symms]] of [[Idaho]], and [[Jesse Helms]] of [[North Carolina]] called the [[White House]] to express their discontent over the nomination; Nickles said he and "other profamily Republican senators would not support O'Connor".<ref name="greenburg 222" /> Helms, Nickles, and Symms nevertheless voted for confirmation.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=1981|title=CQ Senate Votes 271–278|url=https://library.cqpress.com/cqalmanac/file.php?path=Floor%20Votes%20Tables/cqal81_1981_Senate_Floor_Votes_274-281.pdf|journal=CQ Almanac|volume=47-S|access-date=November 8, 2021|archive-date=August 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210807213708/https://library.cqpress.com/cqalmanac/file.php?path=Floor%20Votes%20Tables%2Fcqal81_1981_Senate_Floor_Votes_274-281.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Reagan formally nominated O'Connor on August 19, 1981.<ref>{{cite web|last1=U.S. National Archives|title=Reagan's Nomination of O'Connor|url=https://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/oconnor.html|access-date=August 19, 2014|archive-date=July 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140713172246/http://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/oconnor.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Conservative activists such as the Reverend [[Jerry Falwell]], [[Howard Phillips (politician)|Howard Phillips]], and Peter Gemma also spoke out against the nomination. Gemma called the nomination "a direct contradiction of the Republican [[Party platform|platform]] to everything that candidate Reagan said and even President Reagan has said in regard to social issues."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/1981/0708/070837.html|title=A closer look at nation's first woman high court nominee|author=Julia Malone|date=July 8, 1981|newspaper=[[Christian Science Monitor]]|access-date=May 20, 2016|archive-date=June 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629155810/http://www.csmonitor.com/1981/0708/070837.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Gemma, the executive director of the [[United States pro-life movement|National Pro-Life Political Action Committee]], had sought to delay O'Connor's confirmation by challenging her record, including support for the [[Equal Rights Amendment]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/1981/0903/090343.html|title=New Right strategy: let's drag out O'Connor's confirmation hearing; Focus: abortion, women's rights, school prayer|date=September 3, 1981|author=Julia Malone|newspaper=[[Christian Science Monitor]]|access-date=May 23, 2016|archive-date=June 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629151111/http://www.csmonitor.com/1981/0903/090343.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

O'Connor's confirmation hearing before the [[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|Senate Judiciary Committee]] began on September 9, 1981.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/10/us/o-connor-hearings-open-on-a-note-of-friendship.html|title=O'Connor Hearings Open on a Note of Friendship|last=Greenhouse|first=Linda|date=September 10, 1981|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 20, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029012648/http://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/10/us/o-connor-hearings-open-on-a-note-of-friendship.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It was the first televised confirmation hearing for a Supreme Court justice.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sites.c-span.org/camerasInTheCourt/timeline.html|title=Cameras in the Court|website=c-span.org|access-date=October 27, 2017|archive-date=October 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028093520/https://sites.c-span.org/camerasInTheCourt/timeline.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The confirmation hearing lasted three days and largely focused on the issue of abortion.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/16/us/panel-approves-judge-o-connor.html|title=Panel Approves Judge O'Connor|last=Greenhouse|first=Linda|date=September 16, 1981|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 20, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028200903/http://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/16/us/panel-approves-judge-o-connor.html|url-status=live}}</ref> When asked, O'Connor refused to telegraph her views on abortion, and she was careful not to leave the impression that she supported [[pro-choice|abortion rights]].<ref>{{harvp|Greenburg|2007|pp=222–223}}</ref> The Judiciary Committee approved O'Connor with seventeen votes in favor and one vote of present.<ref name=":3" />

On September 21, O'Connor was confirmed by the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] with a vote of 99–0.<ref name="UPI-1981-Review"/><ref>{{Cite web|title = Reagan's Nomination of O'Connor|url = https://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/oconnor.html|publisher = archives.gov|access-date = November 7, 2015|archive-date = November 8, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151108040348/http://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/oconnor.html|url-status = live}}</ref> Only Senator [[Max Baucus]] of Montana was absent from the vote, and he sent O'Connor a copy of ''[[A River Runs Through It (novel)|A River Runs Through It]]'' by way of apology.<ref>{{cite news|last=Lowe|first=Rebecca|title=Supremely confident: the legacy of Sandra Day O'Connor|url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/2011/aug/30/us-supreme-court-george-bush|work=The Guardian|date=August 30, 2011|access-date=December 16, 2016|archive-date=March 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318091111/https://www.theguardian.com/law/2011/aug/30/us-supreme-court-george-bush|url-status=live}}</ref> In her first year on the Court she received over 60,000 letters from the public, more than any other justice in history.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8433188/ns/us_news-the_changing_court/t/sandra-day-oconnor-reluctant-justice/|title=Sandra Day O'Connor: The reluctant justice|last=Associated Press|date=July 1, 2005|work=nbc.com|access-date=May 20, 2017|archive-date=March 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311021301/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8433188/ns/us_news-the_changing_court/t/sandra-day-oconnor-reluctant-justice/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Two years after O'Connor joined the Court, ''[[The New York Times]]'' published an editorial which mentioned the "nine men"<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/29/opinion/topics-in-the-name-of-the-law-legal-abc-s.html|title=Topics: In the Name of the LawOPICS: Legal ABC's|date=September 29, 1983|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 22, 2017|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202063959/http://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/29/opinion/topics-in-the-name-of-the-law-legal-abc-s.html|url-status=live}}</ref> of the "SCOTUS", or Supreme Court of the United States.<ref name=":2" /> O'Connor responded with a letter to the editor reminding the ''Times'' that the Court was no longer composed of nine men and referred to herself as FWOTSC (First Woman On The Supreme Court).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/12/opinion/l-high-court-s-9-men-were-a-surprise-to-one-225413.html|title=High Court's '9 Men' Were a Surprise to One|date=October 12, 1983|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 19, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=January 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180124135906/http://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/12/opinion/l-high-court-s-9-men-were-a-surprise-to-one-225413.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1993, [[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]] became the second female Supreme Court justice.<ref name=":18">{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/03/15/693542112/from-triumph-to-tragedy-first-tells-story-of-justice-sandra-day-oconnor|title=From Triumph To Tragedy, 'First' Tells Story Of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor|last=Totenberg|first=Nina|date=March 15, 2019|website=NPR.org|language=en|access-date=February 17, 2020|archive-date=February 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217225228/https://www.npr.org/2019/03/15/693542112/from-triumph-to-tragedy-first-tells-story-of-justice-sandra-day-oconnor|url-status=live}}</ref> O'Connor said she felt relief from the media clamor when she was no longer the only woman on the Court.<ref name=":18" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?57167-1/women-bench|title=Women on the Bench {{!}} C-SPAN.org|website=www.c-span.org|language=en-us|access-date=January 29, 2020|archive-date=August 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806230339/https://www.c-span.org/video/?57167-1%2Fwomen-bench|url-status=live}}</ref> In May 2010, O'Connor warned female Supreme Court nominee [[Elena Kagan]] about the "unpleasant" process of confirmation hearings.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/sandra-day-oconnor-cautions-elena-kagan-dreadful-nomination/story?id=10754455|title=Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor Backs Elena Kagan Nomination|last=Clarke|first=Suzan|date=May 27, 2010|publisher=[[ABC News]]|access-date=December 19, 2010|archive-date=February 1, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110201170640/http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/sandra-day-oconnor-cautions-elena-kagan-dreadful-nomination/story?id=10754455|url-status=live}}</ref>

Initially, O'Connor's voting record aligned closely with the conservative [[William Rehnquist]] (voting with him 87% of the time her first three years at the Court).<ref>{{harvp|Greenburg|2007|p=68}}</ref> From that time until 1998, O'Connor's alignment with Rehnquist ranged from 93.4% to 63.2%, hitting above 90% in three of those years.<ref name="la times">{{cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Herman |date=April 12, 1998 |url=https://articles.latimes.com/1998/apr/12/opinion/op-38686 |title=O'Connor as a 'Centrist'? Not When Minorities Are Involved |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=February 18, 2020 |archive-date=June 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160608082707/http://articles.latimes.com/1998/apr/12/opinion/op-38686 |url-status=live }}</ref> In nine of her first sixteen years on the Court, O'Connor voted with Rehnquist more than with any other justice.<ref name="la times"/>

O'Connor's relatively small<ref name="wash post">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14368-2004Oct31.html |title=Justices Too Tightlipped on Their Health? |first=Charles |last=Lane |date=November 1, 2004 |page=A19 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=December 19, 2010 |archive-date=May 1, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501115823/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14368-2004Oct31.html |url-status=live }}</ref> shift away from conservatives on the Court seems to have been due at least in part to Thomas's views.<ref>{{harvp|Greenburg|2007|pp=122–123}}</ref> When Thomas and O'Connor were voting on the same side, she would typically write a separate opinion of her own, refusing to join his.<ref>{{harvp|Greenburg|2007|pp=123, 134}}</ref> In the 1992 term, O'Connor did not join a single one of Thomas's dissents.<ref>{{harvp|Greenburg|2007|p=123}}</ref>

* ''[[McConnell v. FEC]]'', {{ussc|540|93|2003}}, upholding the constitutionality of most of the [[Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act|McCain-Feingold campaign-finance bill]] regulating "[[Campaign finance in the United States#Hard money and soft money|soft money]]" contributions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aclu.org/other/cases-which-sandra-day-oconnor-cast-decisive-vote|title=Cases in Which Sandra Day O'Connor Cast the Decisive Vote|website=American Civil Liberties Union|language=en|access-date=April 21, 2019|archive-date=April 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421035447/https://www.aclu.org/other/cases-which-sandra-day-oconnor-cast-decisive-vote|url-status=live}}</ref>

* ''[[United States v. Lopez]]'', {{ussc|514|549|1995}}: O'Connor joined a majority holding unconstitutional the [[Gun-Free School Zones Act]] as beyond Congress's [[Commerce Clause]] power.

* ''[[Bush v. Gore]]'', {{ussc|531|98|2000}}, O'Connor joined with four other justices on December 12, 2000, to rule on the ''Bush v. Gore'' case that ceased challenges to the results of the [[2000 United States presidential election|2000 presidential election]] (ruling to stop the ongoing [[Florida election recount]] and to allow no further recounts). This case effectively ended Gore's hopes to become president. Some legal scholars have argued that she should have recused herself from this case, citing several reports that she became upset when the media initially announced that Gore had won Florida, with her husband explaining that they would have to wait another four years before retiring to Arizona.<ref name="Neumann">{{Cite journal |first=Richard K., Jr. |last=Neumann |title=Conflicts of interest in Bush v. Gore: Did some justices vote illegally? |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3975/is_200304/ai_n9221306 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060615061559/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3975/is_200304/ai_n9221306 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 15, 2006 |journal=Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics |year=2003 |page=34}}</ref> O'Connor expressed surprise that the decision became controversial.<ref name="vanityfair.com">{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2004/10/florida-election-2000|title=Behind the aftermath of the 2000 U.S. election|first=David|last=Margolick|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=March 19, 2014|access-date=July 3, 2019|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126114100/http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2004/10/florida-election-2000|url-status=live}}</ref> Some people in Washington stopped shaking her hand after the decision, and [[Arthur Miller]] confronted her about it at the [[Kennedy Center]].<ref name="vanityfair.com"/>

On February 22, 2005, with Rehnquist and Stevens (who were senior to her) absent, she became the senior justice presiding over oral arguments in the case of ''[[Kelo v. City of New London]]'' and becoming the first woman to do so before the Court.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Glass |first1=Andrew |title=Senate confirms first female Supreme Court justice, Sept. 21, 1981 |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/senate-confirms-first-female-supreme-court-justice-sept-21-1981-228285 |website=politico.com |publisher=Politico, LLC. |access-date=March 15, 2020 |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806233501/https://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/senate-confirms-first-female-supreme-court-justice-sept-21-1981-228285 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Justice O'Connor was unpredictable in many of her court decisions, especially those regarding First Amendment [[Establishment Clause]] issues. Avoiding ideology, she decided on a case-by-case basis and voted with careful deliberation in a way that she felt benefited individual rights and the Constitution (which she viewed to be "an ever changing work in progress"). Barry Lynn, executive director of [[Americans United for Separation of Church and State]], said, "O'Connor was a conservative, but she saw the complexity of church-state issues and tried to choose a course that respected the country's religious diversity" (Hudson 2005). O'Connor voted in favor of religious institutions,{{Clarify|reason=|date=May 2017}} such as in ''[[Zelman v. Simmons-Harris]]'', ''[[Mitchell v. Helms]]'', and ''[[Rosenberger v. University of Virginia]]''. Conversely, in ''[[Lee v. Weisman]]'' she was part of the majority in the case that saw religious prayer and pressure to stand in silence at a graduation ceremony as part of a religious act that coerced people to support or to participate in religion, which is strictly prohibited by the Establishment Clause. This is consistent with a similar case, ''[[Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe]]'', involving prayer at a school football game. In this case, O'Connor joined the majority opinion that stated prayer at school football games violates the Establishment Clause. O'Connor was the first justice to articulate the "no endorsement" standard for the Establishment Clause.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2013/10/religious-liberty-and-supreme-court|title=Endorsing the endorsement test|last=S.M.|date=October 8, 2013|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=June 21, 2017|archive-date=December 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220144859/http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2013/10/religious-liberty-and-supreme-court|url-status=live}}</ref> In ''[[Lynch v. Donnelly]]'', O'Connor signed onto a five-justice majority opinion holding that a nativity scene in a public Christmas display did not violate the First Amendment. She penned a concurrence in that case, opining that the crèche was not violative of the Establishment Clause because it did not express an endorsement or disapproval of any religion.<ref name=":4" />

According to law professor [[Jeffrey Rosen (legal academic)|Jeffrey Rosen]], "O'Connor was an eloquent opponent of intrusive group searches that threatened privacy without increasing security. In a [[United States v. Place|1983 opinion]] upholding searches by drug-sniffing dogs, she recognized that a search is most likely to be considered [[Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution|constitutionally reasonable]] if it is very effective at discovering [[contraband]] without revealing ''innocent but embarrassing'' information."<ref>{{cite news |author-link=Jeffrey Rosen (legal academic) |last=Rosen |first=Jeffrey |date=November 28, 2010 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/26/AR2010112604290.html |title=The TSA is invasive, annoying&nbsp;– and unconstitutional |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-date=December 5, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205063930/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/26/AR2010112604290.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Washington College of Law]] law professor Andrew Taslitz, referencing O'Connor's [[Atwater v. City of Lago Vista#Dissenting opinion|dissent]] in a [[Atwater v. City of Lago Vista|2001 case]], said of her [[Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourth Amendment]] jurisprudence: "O'Connor recognizes that needless humiliation of an individual is an important factor in determining Fourth Amendment reasonableness."<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GOpW_DdlMSIC&q=o%27connor+%22fourth+amendment%22&pg=PA83 |page=83 |title=Reconstructing the Fourth Amendment: A History of Search and Seizure, 1789–1868 |isbn=978-0814783153 |last1=Taslitz |first1=Andrew E. |date=October 1, 2006 |access-date=November 20, 2020 |archive-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151021/https://books.google.com/books?id=GOpW_DdlMSIC&q=o%27connor+%22fourth+amendment%22&pg=PA83 |url-status=live }}</ref> O'Connor once quoted the social contract theory of [[John Locke]] as influencing her views on the reasonableness and constitutionality of government action.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.utahpatentattorneys.com/File/c2c851b5-8b2b-4dfb-b1b7-ff7ba1ead084 |title=Regula Pro Lege, Si Deficit Lex: The Latin Sapience of High Judges |access-date=November 17, 2016 |work=The Federal Bar Association |archive-date=November 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119120343/http://www.utahpatentattorneys.com/File/c2c851b5-8b2b-4dfb-b1b7-ff7ba1ead084 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In ''[[McCleskey v. Kemp]]'' in 1987, O'Connor joined a 5–4 majority that voted to uphold the death penalty for an African American man, Warren McCleskey, convicted of killing a white police officer, despite statistical evidence that black defendants were more likely to receive the death penalty than others both in Georgia and in the U.S. as a whole.<ref name="la times" /><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?path=/GovernmentPolitics/Government/LegalCases&id=h-2933 |title=McCleskey v. Kemp |encyclopedia=[[New Georgia Encyclopedia]] |access-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-date=May 14, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514024725/http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?path=%2FGovernmentPolitics%2FGovernment%2FLegalCases&id=h-2933 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>David Baldus, et al., "In The Post-Furman Era: An Empirical And Legal Overview, With Recent Findings From Philadelphia", 83 ''Cornell Law Rev.'' 1638 (1998)</ref>

In 1996's ''[[Shaw v. Hunt]]'' and ''[[Shaw v. Reno]]'', O'Connor joined a Rehnquist opinion, following an earlier precedent from an opinion she authored in 1993, in which the Court struck down an electoral districting plan designed to facilitate the election of two black representatives out of twelve from North Carolina, a state that had not had any black representative since Reconstruction, despite being approximately 20% black<ref name="la times" />{{snd}}the Court held that the districts were unacceptably [[gerrymander]]ed and O'Connor called the odd shape of the district in question, North Carolina's 12th, "bizarre".

In 2003, she authored a majority Supreme Court opinion (''[[Grutter v. Bollinger]]'') saying racial affirmative action shouldn't be constitutional permanently, but long enough to correct past discrimination{{snd}}with an approximate limit of around 25 years.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.hlrecord.org/2.4463/justice-o-connor-affirmative-action-should-continue-1.577502 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120118081933/http://www.hlrecord.org/2.4463/justice-o-connor-affirmative-action-should-continue-1.577502 |archive-date=January 18, 2012 |title=Justice O'Connor: affirmative action should continue |access-date=March 9, 2012 }}</ref>

The [[Christian right]] element in the Reagan coalition strongly supported him in 1980, in the belief that he would appoint Supreme Court justices to overturn ''[[Roe v. Wade]]''. They were astonished and dismayed when his first appointment was O'Connor, whom they feared would tolerate abortion. They worked hard to defeat her confirmation but failed.<ref>Prudence Flowers, "‘A Prolife Disaster’: The Reagan Administration and the Nomination of Sandra Day O’Connor." ''Journal of Contemporary History''  53.2 (2018): 391–414.</ref> In her confirmation hearings and early days on the Court, O'Connor was carefully ambiguous on the issue of abortion, as some conservatives questioned her [[anti-abortion]] credentials on the basis of some of her votes in the Arizona legislature.<ref name="greenburg 222"/> O'Connor generally dissented from 1980s opinions which took an expansive view of ''Roe v. Wade''; she criticized that decision's "trimester approach" sharply in her dissent in 1983's ''[[City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health]].'' She criticized ''Roe'' in ''[[Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists]]'': "... I dispute not only the wisdom but also the legitimacy of the Court's attempt to discredit and pre-empt state abortion regulation regardless of the interests it serves and the impact it has."<ref>Greenhouse, Linda. ''Becoming Justice Blackmun''. [[Times Books]]. 2005. p. 183.</ref> In 1989, O'Connor stated during the deliberations over the ''Webster'' case that she would not overrule ''Roe''.<ref>{{harvp|Greenburg|2007|p=80}}</ref> While on the Court, O'Connor did not vote to strike down any restrictions on abortion until ''[[Hodgson v. Minnesota]]'' in 1990.<ref name="Greenhouse, Becoming Justice Blackmun">{{citation | author = Greenhouse, Linda | author-link = Linda Greenhouse | title = Becoming Justice Blackmun | publisher = Times Books | year = 2005 | pages = 196–197}}</ref>

O'Connor allowed certain limits to be placed on access to abortion, but supported the right to abortion established by ''Roe''. In ''[[Planned Parenthood v. Casey]]'', O'Connor used a test she had originally developed in ''City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health'' to limit the holding of ''Roe v. Wade'', opening up a legislative portal where a State could enact measures so long as they did not place an "undue burden" on a woman's right to an abortion. ''Casey'' revised downward the standard of scrutiny federal courts would apply to state abortion restrictions, a major departure from ''Roe''. However, it preserved ''Roe''<nowiki/>'s core constitutional precept: that the Fourteenth Amendment implies and protects a woman's fundamental right to control the outcomes of her reproductive actions. Writing the plurality opinion for the Court, O'Connor, along with justices Kennedy and Souter, famously declared: "At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life. Beliefs about these matters could not define the attributes of personhood were they formed under compulsion of the State."<ref>''Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey,'' 505 U.S. 833, 851 (1992).</ref>

O'Connor was a vigorous defender of the citing of foreign laws in judicial decisions.<ref>{{cite journal |issn=0392-6664 |url=https://www.academia.edu/2420553 |title=Il diritto straniero e la Corte suprema statunitense |language=it |journal=Quaderni Costituzionali |date=June 2006 |last1=Buonomo |first1=Giampiero |access-date=May 15, 2015 |archive-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151021/https://www.academia.edu/2420553 |url-status=live }}</ref> On October 28, 2003, O'Connor spoke at the [[Southern Center for International Studies]]:

<blockquote>The impressions we create in this world are important and can leave their mark ... [T]here is talk today about the "internationalization of legal relations". We are already seeing this in American courts, and should see it increasingly in the future. This does not mean, of course, that our courts can or should abandon their character as domestic institutions. But conclusions reached by other countries and by the international community, although not formally binding upon our decisions, should at times constitute persuasive authority in American courts{{snd}}what is sometimes called "transjudicialism".<ref name=speech>{{cite web |url=http://www.southerncenter.org/OConnor_transcript.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314163104/http://www.southerncenter.org/OConnor_transcript.pdf |archive-date=March 14, 2012 |title=Remarks at the Southern Center for International Studies |first=Sandra Day |last= O'Connor |date=October 28, 2003 }}</ref></blockquote>

O'Connor's case-by-case approach routinely placed her in the center of the Court and drew both criticism and praise. ''[[The Washington Post|Washington Post]]'' columnist [[Charles Krauthammer]], for example, described her as lacking a judicial philosophy and instead displaying "political positioning embedded in a social agenda."<ref>{{Cite news |title=Philosophy for a Judge |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/07/AR2005070701898.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |first=Charles |last=Krauthammer |access-date=November 18, 2005 |date=July 8, 2005 |archive-date=October 26, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051026043126/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/07/AR2005070701898.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Conservative commentator [[Ramesh Ponnuru]] wrote that, even though O'Connor "has voted reasonably well", her tendency to issue very case-specific rulings "undermines the predictability of the law and aggrandizes the judicial role."<ref>{{Cite news|title=Sandra's Day|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/flashback/ponnuru200507011211.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050911141328/http://www.nationalreview.com/flashback/ponnuru200507011211.asp|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 11, 2005|access-date=March 18, 2007| first=Ramesh|last=Ponnuru|work=[[National Review]]|date=June 30, 2003}}</ref>

Law clerks serving the Court in 2000 speculated that the decision she reached in ''Bush v. Gore'' was based on a desire to appear fair, rather than on any legal rationale, pointing to a memo she sent out the night before the decision was issued that used entirely different logic to reach the same result. They also characterized her approach to cases as deciding on "gut feelings".<ref name="vanityfair.com"/>

In 2003, she wrote a book titled ''The Majesty of the Law: Reflections of a Supreme Court Justice'' ({{ISBN|0-375-50925-9}}).<ref>{{cite web |title=The Majesty of the Law |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/the-majesty-of-the-law |website=pbs.org |date=June 9, 2003 |publisher=PBS |access-date=March 15, 2020 |archive-date=August 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820134044/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/the-majesty-of-the-law |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2005, she wrote a children's book, ''Chico'', named for her favorite horse, which offered an autobiographical depiction of her childhood.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1076621&page=1|title=Sandra Day O'Connor Writes Children's Book|last=ABC News|date=June 1, 2006|website=ABC News|language=en|access-date=May 11, 2018|archive-date=May 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180512112506/https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1076621&page=1|url-status=live}}</ref>

On December 12, 2000, ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' reported that O'Connor was reluctant to retire with a Democrat in the presidency: "At an Election Night party at the Washington, D.C., home of Mary Ann Stoessel, widow of former Ambassador [[Walter John Stoessel Jr.|Walter Stoessel]], the justice's husband, John O'Connor, mentioned to others her desire to step down, according to three witnesses. But Mr. O'Connor said his wife would be reluctant to retire if a Democrat were in the White House and would choose her replacement. Justice O'Connor declined to comment."<ref>{{Cite news|title=Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics: "Conflicts of interest in Bush v. Gore: Did some justices vote illegally?" |url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3975/is_200304/ai_n9221306|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060615061559/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3975/is_200304/ai_n9221306|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 15, 2006|access-date=November 18, 2005 | work=The Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics | year=2003}}</ref>

[[File:oconnor070105 0001.jpg|thumb|upright|Justice O'Connor's letter to Bush, dated July 1, 2005, announcing her retirement]]

By 2005, the composition of the Court had been unchanged for eleven years, the second-longest period in American history without any such change. Rehnquist was widely expected to be the first justice to retire during Bush's term, owing to his age and his battle with cancer, although rumors of O'Connor's possible retirement circulated as well.<ref name=":7">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/01/AR2005070100653.html|title=Supreme Court Justice O'Connor Resigns|last1=Deane|first1=Daniela|date=July 1, 2005|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=October 27, 2017|last2=Branigin|first2=William|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286|last3=Barbash|first3=Fred|archive-date=December 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171219044223/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/01/AR2005070100653.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

On July 19, Bush nominated [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit|D.C. Circuit]] Judge [[John Roberts]] to succeed O'Connor. O'Connor heard the news over the car radio on the way back from a fishing trip.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Landers|first=Rich|date=October 2005|title=Guiding Sandra Day O'Connor|journal=Field & Stream|volume=CX|page=21|via=ProQuest}}</ref> She felt he was an excellent and highly qualified choice{{snd}}he had argued [[John Roberts#Private practice|numerous cases]] before the Court during her tenure.{{Citation needed|date=October 2010}} However, she was disappointed that her replacement was not a woman.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/interviews/article/17396-q-a-with-sandra-day-o-connor.html|work=Publishers Weekly|title=Q & A with Sandra Day O'Connor|date=May 28, 2009|author=Lodge, Sally|access-date=March 5, 2013|archive-date=November 4, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104142801/http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/interviews/article/17396-q-a-with-sandra-day-o-connor.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

O'Connor had expected to leave the Court before the next term started on October 3, 2005.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jul/01/usa|title=First woman to serve as US supreme court justice retires|last=Associated Press|date=July 1, 2005|work=The Guardian|access-date=October 27, 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=October 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028150207/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jul/01/usa|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":8" /> However, Rehnquist died on September 3,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.denverpost.com/2005/09/03/chief-justice-rehnquist-dies-of-thyroid-cancer/|title=Chief Justice Rehnquist dies of thyroid cancer|date=September 3, 2005|work=The Denver Post|access-date=October 27, 2017|language=en-US|archive-date=October 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028094827/http://www.denverpost.com/2005/09/03/chief-justice-rehnquist-dies-of-thyroid-cancer/|url-status=live}}</ref> creating an immediate vacancy on the Court.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/THE-SUPREME-COURT-IN-TRANSITION-The-death-of-2571270.php|title=The Supreme Court in Transition: The death of William Rehnquist / Chief justice's passing provides Bush with major opportunity|last=Sandalow|first=Marc|date=September 5, 2005|work=SFGate|access-date=October 27, 2017|archive-date=October 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028094230/http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/THE-SUPREME-COURT-IN-TRANSITION-The-death-of-2571270.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Two days later, Bush withdrew Roberts as his nominee for her seat and instead appointed him to fill the vacant office of chief justice.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/05/roberts.nomination/|title=Bush nominates Roberts as chief justice|date=September 6, 2005|website=www.cnn.com|language=en|access-date=October 28, 2017|archive-date=February 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204191709/http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/05/roberts.nomination/|url-status=live}}</ref> O'Connor agreed to stay on the Court until her replacement was named and confirmed.<ref name=":9" /> She spoke at the late chief justice's funeral.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rehnquist-given-final-farewell/|title=Rehnquist Given Final Farewell|last=Alfano|first=Sean|date=September 7, 2005|access-date=October 27, 2017|language=en|archive-date=October 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028094100/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rehnquist-given-final-farewell/|url-status=live}}</ref> On October 3, Bush nominated [[White House Counsel]] [[Harriet Miers]] to replace O'Connor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/10/03/scotus.miers/|title=Bush picks White House counsel for Supreme Court|date=October 4, 2005|website=www.cnn.com|language=en|access-date=October 28, 2017|archive-date=October 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029013017/http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/10/03/scotus.miers/|url-status=live}}</ref> After much [[Harriet Miers Supreme Court nomination|criticism and controversy]] over her nomination, on October 27, Miers asked Bush to withdraw her nomination.<ref name=":10">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/27/AR2005102700547.html|title=Miers, Under Fire From Right, Withdrawn as Court Nominee|newspaper=The Washington Post|last1=Babington|first1=Charles|date=October 28, 2005|access-date=October 28, 2017|last2=Fletcher|first2=Michael A.|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=November 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107040439/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/27/AR2005102700547.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Bush accepted, reopening the search for O'Connor's successor.<ref name=":10" />

The continued delays in confirming a successor further extended O'Connor's time on the Court.<ref name=":8">{{Cite news|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/9842789/ns/us_news-the_changing_court/t/oconnor-remain-crucial-vote-major-cases/#.WfPrgWhSzIU|title=O'Connor to remain crucial vote in major cases|last=Associated Press|date=October 27, 2005|work=msnbc.com|access-date=October 27, 2017|language=en|archive-date=October 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028093713/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/9842789/ns/us_news-the_changing_court/t/oconnor-remain-crucial-vote-major-cases/#.WfPrgWhSzIU|url-status=live}}</ref> She continued to hear oral argument on cases, including cases dealing with controversial issues such as [[Assisted suicide|physician-assisted suicide]] and abortion.<ref name=":8" /> O'Connor's last Court opinion, ''[[Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of New England]]'', written for a unanimous court, was a procedural decision that involved a challenge to a New Hampshire abortion law.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2006|title=The Supreme Court 2005 Term – Leading Cases|url=https://harvardlawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/ayotte_v_planned_parenthood.pdf|journal=Harvard Law Review|volume=120|page=295|access-date=October 28, 2017|archive-date=October 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014183126/https://harvardlawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/ayotte_v_planned_parenthood.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

On October 31, Bush nominated [[United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit|Third Circuit]] Judge [[Samuel Alito]] to replace O'Connor;<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/10/31/scotus.bush/index.html|title=Bush nominates Alito to Supreme Court|date=November 1, 2005|website=www.cnn.com|language=en|access-date=October 28, 2017|archive-date=October 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028094613/http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/10/31/scotus.bush/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Alito was confirmed by a 58–42 vote and was sworn in on January 31, 2006.<ref>{{Cite web|title=U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 109th Congress – 2nd Session|url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00002|access-date=February 11, 2021|website=www.senate.gov|archive-date=August 29, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080829201552/https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00002|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/31/alito/|title=Alito sworn in as nation's 110th Supreme Court justice|date=February 1, 2006|website=www.cnn.com|language=en|access-date=October 27, 2017|archive-date=February 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203040334/http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/31/alito/|url-status=live}}</ref> After retiring, she continued to hear cases and rendered over a dozen opinions in federal appellate courts across the country, filling in as a substitute judge when vacations or vacancies left their three-member panels understaffed.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Change of Venue: In Retirement, Justice O'Connor Still Rules|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124994271588320565#mod=todays_us_page_one|first=Jess|last=Bravin|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=August 11, 2009|access-date=August 8, 2017|archive-date=October 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028093841/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124994271588320565#mod=todays_us_page_one|url-status=live}}</ref> On Alito's nomination, O'Connor said, "I've often said, it's wonderful to be the first to do something but I didn't want to be the last. If I didn't do a good job, it might've been the last and indeed when I retired, I was not replaced, then, by a woman which gives one pause to think 'Oh, what did I do wrong that led to this.'"<ref>{{Citation|title=Excerpts from C-SPAN's Interviews with Supreme Court Justices|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUfl9-cwJt4&list=TLPQMjcwMTIwMjJTgpgUK9DfGg&index=61|language=en|access-date=2022-01-27}}</ref>

During a March 2006 speech at [[Georgetown University]], O'Connor said some political attacks on the independence of the courts pose a direct threat to the constitutional freedoms of Americans. She said "any reform of the system is debatable as long as it is not motivated by retaliation for decisions that political leaders disagree with", also noting that she was "against judicial reforms driven by nakedly partisan reasoning."<ref name=NPR>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5255712|title=O'Connor Decries Republican Attacks on Courts|website=NPR.org|access-date=April 4, 2018|archive-date=September 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912235700/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5255712|url-status=live}}</ref> "Courts interpret the law as it was written, not as the congressmen might have wished it was written", and "it takes a lot of degeneration before a country falls into dictatorship, but we should avoid these ends by avoiding these beginnings."<ref name=NPR/> She echoed her concerns for an independent judiciary during the dedication address at the [[Elon University School of Law]] in September of that same year.

On November 19, 2008, O'Connor published an introductory essay to a themed issue on judicial accountability in the ''Denver University Law Review''. She calls for a better public understanding of judicial accountability.<ref>{{cite journal|url = https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/denlr86&div=4|title = Judicial Accountability Must Safeguard, Not Threaten, Judicial Independence: An Introduction|journal = Denver University Law Review|volume = 86|pages = 1|last1 = O'Connor|first1 = Sandra Day|access-date = November 8, 2021|archive-date = August 6, 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200806230459/https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals%2Fdenlr86&div=4|url-status = live}}</ref> On November 7, 2007, at a conference on her landmark opinion in ''[[Strickland v. Washington]]'' (1984) sponsored by the [[Constitution Project]], highlighted the lack of proper legal representation for many of the poorest defendants.<ref name=":12">[https://www.usnews.com/articles/news/national/2007/11/07/justice-oconnors-wish-a-wand-not-a-gavel.html "Justice O'Connor's Wish: a Wand, not a Gavel"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081101105524/http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/national/2007/11/07/justice-oconnors-wish-a-wand-not-a-gavel.html/ |date=November 1, 2008 }}, ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'', November 7, 2007.</ref> O'Connor also urged the creation of a system for "merit selection for judges," a cause for which she had frequently advocated.<ref name=":12" /><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/oconnor-and-her-clerk|title=O'Connor and Her Clerk|last=Toobin|first=Jeffrey|date=June 11, 2012|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=May 10, 2018|language=en|issn=0028-792X|archive-date=May 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511083055/https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/oconnor-and-her-clerk|url-status=live}}</ref>

On August 7, 2008, O'Connor and [[Abdurrahman Wahid]], former [[President of Indonesia]], wrote an editorial in the ''[[Financial Times]]'' stating concerns about the threatened imprisonment of Malaysian opposition leader [[Anwar Ibrahim]].<ref>[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1a03116e-6484-11dd-af61-0000779fd18c.html "To defend Anwar is to defend Malaysian democracy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080813081442/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1a03116e-6484-11dd-af61-0000779fd18c.html |date=August 13, 2008 }}, Sandra Day O'Connor and Abdurrahman Wahid, ''Financial Times'', August 7, 2008.</ref>

Following the Court's ''[[Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission]]'' decision on corporate political spending, O'Connor offered measured criticism of the decision, telling Georgetown law students and lawyers, "that the Court has created an unwelcome new path for wealthy interests to exert influence on judicial elections."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/oconnor-citizens-united-ruling-problem/story?id=9668044 |title=O'Connor Calls Citizens United Ruling A Problem |first=Matthew |last=Mosk |publisher=[[ABC News]] |date=January 26, 2010 |access-date=December 19, 2010 |archive-date=March 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310155647/http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/oconnor-citizens-united-ruling-problem/story?id=9668044 |url-status=live }}</ref>

O'Connor argued in favor of President [[Barack Obama]] naming the replacement for [[Antonin Scalia]] in February 2016, mere days after Scalia's death, opposing Republican arguments that the next president should get to fill the vacancy. She said, "I think we need somebody there to do the job now and let's get on with it"; and that "[y]ou just have to pick the best person you can under the circumstances, as the appointing authority must do. It's an important position and one that we care about as a nation and as a people. And I wish the president well as he makes choices and goes down that line. It's hard."<ref>{{cite news |first=Cristian |last=Farias |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sandra-day-oconnor-scalia_n_56c5313be4b0c3c55053c6d9 |title=Sandra Day O'Connor Says Obama Should Get To Replace Justice Scalia |work=[[HuffPost]] |date=February 17, 2016 |access-date=May 2, 2020 |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807192900/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sandra-day-oconnor-scalia_n_56c5313be4b0c3c55053c6d9 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Judge [[William H. Pryor Jr.]], a conservative jurist, has criticized O'Connor's speeches and op-eds for hyperbole and factual inaccuracy, based in part on O'Connor's opinions as to whether judges face a rougher time in the public eye today than in the past.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB115992646659882019|title=Neither Force Nor Will, But Merely Judgment|last=Pryor Jr|first=William H.|date=October 4, 2006|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=August 8, 2017|archive-date=November 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171124201117/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB115992646659882019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://media.www.hlrecord.org/media/storage/paper609/news/2007/03/15/News/Judge.Pryor.On.Judicial.Independence-2777228.shtml |title=Judge Pryor on Judicial Independence |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927021204/http://media.www.hlrecord.org/media/storage/paper609/news/2007/03/15/News/Judge.Pryor.On.Judicial.Independence-2777228.shtml |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |work=[[Harvard Law Record]] |date=March 15, 2007 }}</ref>

O'Connor has reflected on her time on the Supreme Court by saying that she regrets the Court hearing the ''Bush v. Gore'' case in 2000 because it "stirred up the public" and "gave the Court a less-than-perfect reputation." The former justice told the ''Chicago Tribune'' that "Maybe the Court should have said, 'We're not going to take it, goodbye,' ... It turned out the election authorities in Florida hadn't done a real good job there and kind of messed it up. And probably the Supreme Court added to the problem at the end of the day."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-sandra-day-oconnor-edit-board-20130427,0,1201477.story|title=O'Connor questions court's decision to take Bush v. Gore|date=April 27, 2013|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=May 2, 2013|archive-date=May 4, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130504091947/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-sandra-day-oconnor-edit-board-20130427,0,1201477.story|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Granite State Ins. Co. v. Am. Bldg. Materials, Inc., No. 12-10979, 11th Circuit, 2013</ref>

As a retired Supreme Court Justice, O'Connor continued to receive a full salary, maintained a staffed office with at least one law clerk, and heard cases on a part-time basis in federal [[United States district court|district courts]] and [[United States court of appeals|courts of appeals]] as a [[visiting judge]].<ref name=":13">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/retired-supreme-court-justices-still-judge--and-get-judged/2013/03/10/1b22943c-897f-11e2-8d72-dc76641cb8d4_story.html|title=Retired Supreme Court justices still judge – and get judged|last=Barnes|first=Robert|date=March 10, 2013|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=May 10, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=May 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511214608/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/retired-supreme-court-justices-still-judge--and-get-judged/2013/03/10/1b22943c-897f-11e2-8d72-dc76641cb8d4_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> By 2008, O'Connor had sat for cases with the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit|2nd]], [[United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit|8th]], and [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit|9th Circuits]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/10/oconnor-to-hear-second-circuit-cases.php|title=Paper Chase: O'Connor to hear Second Circuit cases|last=Mulcahy|first=Ned|date=October 7, 2006|work=[[Jurist]]|access-date=November 11, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017170301/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/10/oconnor-to-hear-second-circuit-cases.php|archive-date=October 17, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/a_cowgirl_rides_the_circuits|title=A Cowgirl Rides the Circuits|last=Brust|first=Richard|date=April 2008|work=ABA Journal|access-date=May 10, 2018|others=Richard Brust|language=en|archive-date=May 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511150203/http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/a_cowgirl_rides_the_circuits|url-status=live}}</ref> O'Connor heard an Arizona voting rights case which the Supreme Court later reviewed.<ref name=":13" /> In ''[[Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc.|Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona]]'', a 7–2 majority affirmed O'Connor and the rest of 9th Circuit panel, and struck down a provision of Arizona's voting registration law.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2013/06/17/justice/scotus-voter-registration-ruling/index.html|title=Justices strike down citizenship provision in Arizona voter law |last=Mears|first=Bill|date=June 17, 2013|work=CNN|access-date=May 10, 2018|archive-date=May 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511150344/https://www.cnn.com/2013/06/17/justice/scotus-voter-registration-ruling/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> O'Connor hired a law clerk for the October 2015 term, but did not hire a law clerk for the subsequent term.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://abovethelaw.com/2015/07/supreme-court-clerk-hiring-watch-who-is-not-retiring-from-scotus/|title=Supreme Court Clerk Hiring Watch: Who Is NOT Retiring From SCOTUS?|last=Lat|first=David|date=July 8, 2015|work=Above the Law|access-date=May 10, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151024/https://abovethelaw.com/2015/07/supreme-court-clerk-hiring-watch-who-is-not-retiring-from-scotus/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://abovethelaw.com/2016/07/supreme-court-clerk-hiring-watch-the-official-list-for-ot-2016/|title=Supreme Court Clerk Hiring Watch: The Official List|last=Lat|first=David|date=July 22, 2016|work=Above the Law|access-date=May 10, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151035/https://abovethelaw.com/2016/07/supreme-court-clerk-hiring-watch-the-official-list-for-ot-2016/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Sandra Day O'Connor Project on the State of the Judiciary, named for O'Connor, held annual conferences from 2006 through 2008 on the independence of the judiciary.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Greenhouse|first=Linda|date=June 2008|title=Independence: why & from what?|url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A189537182/GPS?sid=wikipedia|journal=Daedalus|volume=137|issue=4|pages=5–7|doi=10.1162/daed.2008.137.4.5|s2cid=57559095|via=Biography in Context}}</ref>

Since 2006, she has been a trustee on the board of the [[Rockefeller Foundation]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Sandra Day O'Connor |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/justices/oconnor.bio.clr.html |website=cornell.edu |access-date=March 15, 2020 |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806213022/https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/justices/oconnor.bio.clr.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=O'Connor to Join Foundation Board |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/04/washington/oconnor-to-join-foundation-board.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 4, 2006 |access-date=March 15, 2020 |archive-date=November 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201121015854/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/04/washington/oconnor-to-join-foundation-board.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

On October 4, 2005, the [[College of William & Mary]] announced that O'Connor had accepted<ref>{{cite web|title=The College of William and Mary announcement of O'Connor's appointment to Chancellor post|url=http://www.wm.edu/news/index.php?id=5234&readMore=true|access-date=November 18, 2005|archive-date=January 1, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060101123743/http://www.wm.edu/news/index.php?id=5234&readMore=true|url-status=live}}</ref> the largely ceremonial role of becoming the 23rd Chancellor of the college. O'Connor continued in the role until 2012.<ref name="Whitson">{{cite web|last=Whitson|first=Brian|title=Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates '65 to Serve as W&M Chancellor|url=http://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2011/former-defense-secretary-robert-gates-65-to-serve-as-wm-chancellor-123.php|publisher=College of William & Mary|access-date=September 6, 2011|archive-date=September 26, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926154257/http://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2011/former-defense-secretary-robert-gates-65-to-serve-as-wm-chancellor-123.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":16" />

O'Connor chaired the [[Jamestown 2007]] celebration, commemorating the 400th anniversary of the founding of the colony at [[Jamestown, Virginia]] in 1607.

 

O'Connor was a member of both the [[American Philosophical Society]] and the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]].<ref name=":19" /><ref name=":20" /> [[File:O'Connor, Sotomayor, Ginsburg, and Kagan.jpg|thumb|right|The first four women Supreme Court justices: O'Connor, [[Sonia Sotomayor]], [[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]], and [[Elena Kagan]], October 1, 2010. O'Connor was retired when the photograph was taken.]]

As of Spring 2006, O'Connor taught a two-week course called "The Supreme Court" at the [[University of Arizona]]'s [[James E. Rogers College of Law]] every spring semester.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sandra Day O'Connor to Teach at UA |url=https://uanews.arizona.edu/story/sandra-day-oconnor-teach-ua |website=uanews.arizona.edu |date=June 23, 2005 |publisher=The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona |access-date=March 15, 2020 |archive-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151023/https://news.arizona.edu/story/sandra-day-oconnor-teach-ua |url-status=live }}</ref> In the fall of 2007, O'Connor and [[W. Scott Bales]] taught a course at the '''Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law''' at [[Arizona State University]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2019}}

She wrote the 2013 book ''Out of Order: Stories from the History of the Supreme Court''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/05/books/sandra-day-oconnors-out-of-order.html|title=Bumpy Start for a Court Cloaked in Grandeur|date=March 4, 2013|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 4, 2013|archive-date=March 7, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130307111126/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/05/books/sandra-day-oconnors-out-of-order.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2008, O'Connor was named an inaugural Harry Rathbun Visiting Fellow by the Office for Religious Life at [[Stanford University]]. On April 22, 2008, she gave "Harry's Last Lecture on a Meaningful Life" in honor of the former Stanford Law professor who shaped her undergraduate and law careers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stanford.edu/group/religiouslife/eventsRathbun.html|title=Office for Religious Life at Stanford University|access-date=April 23, 2008|archive-date=July 26, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726214456/http://www.stanford.edu/group/religiouslife/eventsRathbun.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

On September 17, 2014, O'Connor appeared on the television show ''[[Jeopardy!]]'' and provided a couple of video answers to the category 'Supreme Court' which appeared on the show. On the same day in [[Concord, New Hampshire]], she gave a talk alongside her former colleague [[Justice David Souter]] about the importance of meaningful civics education in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.constitutionallyspeakingnh.org|title=Constitutionally Speaking New Hampshire|publisher=Constitutionallyspeakingnh.org|access-date=November 2, 2015|archive-date=November 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107005138/http://www.constitutionallyspeakingnh.org/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In February 2009, O'Connor launched Our Courts, a website she created to offer interactive civics lessons to students and teachers because she was concerned about the lack of knowledge among most young Americans about how their government works. She also serves as a co-chair with [[Lee H. Hamilton]] for the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.civicmissionofschools.org/the-campaign/campaign-steering-committee|title=Campaign Steering Committee|publisher=Civicmissionofschools.org|access-date=November 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151024064553/http://www.civicmissionofschools.org/the-campaign/campaign-steering-committee|archive-date=October 24, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> On March 3, 2009, O'Connor appeared on the [[news satire|satirical]] television program ''[[The Daily Show]]'' with [[Jon Stewart]] to promote the website. In August 2009, the website added two online interactive games.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.edweek.org/login.html?source=http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/08/20/01civics.h29.html&destination=http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/08/20/01civics.h29.html&levelId=2100|title=Celebrities Lend Weight to Promote Civics Education|author=Zehr, Mary Ann|date=August 25, 2009|work=[[Education Week]]|access-date=September 1, 2009|archive-date=August 28, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090828095344/http://www.edweek.org/login.html?source=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edweek.org%2Few%2Farticles%2F2009%2F08%2F20%2F01civics.h29.html&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edweek.org%2Few%2Farticles%2F2009%2F08%2F20%2F01civics.h29.html&levelId=2100|url-status=live}}</ref> The initiative expanded, becoming [[iCivics]] in May 2010 offering free lesson plans, games, and interactive videogames for middle and high school educators.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icivics.org/About|title=iCivics (formerly Our Courts) homepage|access-date=December 19, 2010|archive-date=October 1, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101001211256/http://www.icivics.org/About|url-status=live}}</ref> By 2015, the iCivics games had 72,000 teachers as registered users and its games had been played 30 million times.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/04/14/oconnor-civics-games-legacy/25505871/|title=Sandra Day O'Connor's post-court legacy: Civics games|last=Toppo|first=Greg|date=April 14, 2015|website=USA Today|language=en|access-date=September 3, 2019|archive-date=September 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903020308/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/04/14/oconnor-civics-games-legacy/25505871/|url-status=live}}</ref>

She served on the Board of Trustees of the [[National Constitution Center]] in Philadelphia, a museum dedicated to the U.S. Constitution.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.constitutioncenter.org/ncc_about_Board_of_Trustees.aspx|title=National Constitution Center, Board of Trustees|date=July 26, 2010|work=National Constitution Center Web Site|publisher=National Constitution Center|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615033447/http://constitutioncenter.org/ncc_about_Board_of_Trustees.aspx|archive-date=June 15, 2010|url-status=dead|access-date=July 27, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://constitutioncenter.org:80/about/board-of-trustees|title=Board of Trustees – National Constitution Center|website=constitutioncenter.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151024091512/http://constitutioncenter.org/about/board-of-trustees|archive-date=October 24, 2015|url-status=dead|access-date=May 16, 2018}}</ref> By November 2015, O'Connor had transitioned to being a Trustee Emeritus for the center.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://constitutioncenter.org:80/about/board-of-trustees/|title=Board of Trustees – National Constitution Center|website=constitutioncenter.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107064352/http://constitutioncenter.org/about/board-of-trustees/|archive-date=November 7, 2015|url-status=dead|access-date=May 16, 2018}}</ref> In April 2013, the Board of Directors of [[Justice at Stake]], a national judicial reform advocacy organization, announced that O'Connor would be joining the organization as Honorary Chair."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.justiceatstake.org/newsroom/press-releases-16824/?supreme_court_justice_sandra_day_oconnor_joins_justice_at_stake_as_honorary_chair&show=news&newsID=16396|title=Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor Joins Justice at Stake as Honorary Chair|date=April 15, 2013|publisher=Justiceatstake.org|access-date=November 2, 2015|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304224728/http://www.justiceatstake.org/newsroom/press-releases-16824/?supreme_court_justice_sandra_day_oconnor_joins_justice_at_stake_as_honorary_chair&show=news&newsID=16396|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2009, O'Connor founded the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization now known as the [[Sandra Day O'Connor Institute]]. Its programs are dedicated to promoting civil discourse, civic engagement, and civics education.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://arizonanonprofits.org/members/?id=42354572|title=Sandra Day O'Connor Institute – Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits|website=arizonanonprofits.org|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180510184142/http://arizonanonprofits.org/members/?id%3D42354572|archive-date=May 10, 2018|url-status=dead|access-date=May 10, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://oconnorinstitute.org/about/civic-duty-mission/|title=A Mission of Civic Duty and Knowledge – The O'Connor Institute|website=Sandra Day O'Connor Institute|access-date=February 17, 2020|archive-date=February 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217235450/https://oconnorinstitute.org/about/civic-duty-mission/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, her former [[adobe]] [[Sandra Day O'Connor House|residence in Arizona]], curated by the O'Connor Institute, was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=O'Sullivan|first=Serena|title=Sandra Day O'Connor's house in Tempe added to the National Register of Historic Places|url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/tempe/2019/07/19/sandra-day-oconnors-house-added-in-tempe-national-register-historic-places/1779271001/|access-date=July 9, 2020|website=The Arizona Republic|language=en-US|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151023/https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/tempe/2019/07/19/sandra-day-oconnors-house-added-in-tempe-national-register-historic-places/1779271001/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2020, the Institute launched O'Connor U, its multigenerational digital platform.<ref>{{Cite web|title=O'Connor U launched by Sandra Day O'Connor Institute|url=https://www.yourvalley.net/stories/sandra-day-oconnor-institute-launches-oconnor-u,161280|access-date=July 9, 2020|website=Your Valley|language=en|archive-date=June 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200619132418/https://www.yourvalley.net/stories/sandra-day-oconnor-institute-launches-oconnor-u,161280|url-status=live}}</ref> O'Connor serves as Founder and Advisor to the O'Connor Institute.

She was a member and president of the [[Junior League]] of Phoenix.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sandra Day O'Connor, The Junior League of Phoenix|url=https://www.ajli.org/?nd=p-do-civldr-bio-sandra-day-oconnor|website=www.ajli.org|access-date=October 24, 2018|archive-date=October 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024232503/https://www.ajli.org/?nd=p-do-civldr-bio-sandra-day-oconnor|url-status=live}}</ref>

O'Connor was a founding co-chair of the National Advisory Board at the National Institute for Civil Discourse (NICD).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nicd.arizona.edu/members/sandra-day-oconnor|title=Sandra Day OConnor|date=January 23, 2012|website=National Institute for Civil Discourse|language=en|access-date=September 3, 2019|archive-date=September 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903020319/https://nicd.arizona.edu/members/sandra-day-oconnor|url-status=live}}</ref> The institute was created at the University of Arizona after the [[2011 Tucson shooting|2011 shooting]] of former Congresswoman [[Gabby Giffords]] that killed six people and wounded 13 others.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nicd.arizona.edu/about|title=About|date=July 5, 2015|website=National Institute for Civil Discourse|language=en|access-date=September 3, 2019|archive-date=September 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903020323/https://nicd.arizona.edu/about|url-status=live}}</ref>

Upon her appointment to the Supreme Court, O'Connor and her husband moved to the [[Kalorama, Washington, D.C.|Kalorama]] area of [[Washington, D.C.|Washington, D.C]]. The O'Connors became active in the Washington D.C. social scene. O'Connor played tennis and golf in her spare time.<ref name=":11" /> She is a baptized member of the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/03/29/how-sandra-day-oconnor-became-the-most-powerful-woman-in-1980s-america/|title=How Sandra Day O'Connor became the most powerful woman in 1980s America|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en|access-date=October 6, 2018|archive-date=March 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160330063935/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/03/29/how-sandra-day-oconnor-became-the-most-powerful-woman-in-1980s-america/|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Portal|Arizona|Biography|Law|Politics}}

* [[List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 8)]]

==Explanatory notes==

* {{C-SPAN|1300}}

** [https://www.c-span.org/video/?168338-1/lazy-b-growing-cattle-ranch ''Booknotes'' interview with O'Connor on ''Lazy B: Growing Up On a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest'', January 27, 2002.]

* [http://www.icivics.org/ iCivics.org], project to teach children civics, O'Connor is chairman of the Board

;Additional information

{{s-break}}

{{s-break}}

{{s-break}}

{{s-bef|before=[[Ketanji Brown Jackson]]|as=Associate Justice of the Supreme Court}}

 

[[Category:20th-century American women politicians]]

[[Category:American women legal scholars]]

[[Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society]]

[[Category:Members of the Junior League]]

[[Category:Rockefeller Foundation people]]