Sandra Day O'Connor

Sandra Day O'Connor was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1981 to 2006, the Court’s first woman justice.

Planned Parenthood v. Casey: A 1992 Supreme Court decision that reaffirmed abortion rights while allowing regulations that did not impose an undue burden. O’Connor co-authored its undue-burden standard, which replaced Roe’s trimester framework.
Swing vote: A vote cast by a legislator or judge whose position can determine the outcome of a closely divided decision. O’Connor often supplied the decisive fifth vote on a sharply divided Court.
Arizona State Senate: The upper chamber of Arizona’s state legislature. O’Connor served there before becoming a judge and later a Supreme Court justice.
William Rehnquist: An American jurist who served as a Supreme Court justice from 1972 and chief justice from 1986 to 2005. O’Connor served alongside Rehnquist, her former Arizona law school classmate, for decades.
Women on the Supreme Court of the United States: The women who have served as justices of the U.S. Supreme Court since 1981. O’Connor opened the Court’s membership to women, a change continued by later appointments.
Bush v. Gore: A 2000 Supreme Court decision that halted Florida’s presidential recount, effectively resolving the election for George W. Bush. O’Connor joined the five-justice majority that ended the recount.
Judicial minimalism: An approach to judging that resolves disputes narrowly and avoids broad constitutional rulings. Her opinions often favored limited holdings over sweeping doctrinal change.
Maricopa County Superior Court: The Arizona trial court of general jurisdiction for Maricopa County. Her judicial career began on this court after years in state politics.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: An American jurist who served as a Supreme Court justice from 1993 to 2020 and advocated gender equality. Ginsburg became the second woman on the Court, joining the institution O’Connor had entered alone.
American Bar Association: A voluntary professional association of lawyers and legal institutions in the United States. After retiring, she led the ABA Commission on Civic Education in the Nation’s Schools.

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