Sandra Day O'Connor

1174 Words3 Pages

Sandra Day O'Connor

Perhaps no other jurist could have come to the Supreme Court under greater expectations. When President Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O'Connor in 1981 to be the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court, he did soto keep a campaign promise. O'Connor's nomination was quick to draw criticism from both the political people left and right. Conservatives put down her lack of federal judicial experience and claimed that she didn't have any constitutional knowledge. They considered her a wasted nomination and suspected her position on abortion. Liberals, on the other hand, could not deny their satisfaction at seeing a woman on the High Court, but they were disappointed in O'Connor's apparent lack of strong support for feminist issues. In time, however, O'Connor has come to answer all these criticisms. O'Connor has emerged from the shadow of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and the Court's conservative bloc with her own brand of pragmatic and centrist-oriented conservatism. Even those liberals who branded her a "traitor" in her early years for compromising on abortion rights, now appreciate her efforts to keep the "pro-choice" message of Roe v. Wade in 1973. O'Connor's success should come at no surprise. From her country childhood to her career climb through a profession dominated by men, O'Connor often resorted to practical solutions as she worked within the system. This made her more important in the Supreme Court.

Sandra Day O'Connor was born March 26, 1930, in El Paso, Texas. Her parents, Harry and Ada Mae, owned the Lazy-B-Cattle Ranch in southeastern Arizona, where O'Connor grew up. O'Connor experienced a difficult life on the ranch in her early years. The ranch itself did not receive electricity or ru...

... middle of paper ...

...s part of the Court's conservative faction. The public often associated her with Rehnquist since they shared common roots and values. However, after a few Terms, O'Connor established her own unique position on the Court. Although she commonly sided with the conservatives, O'Connor would frequently author a concurrence that sought to narrow the scope of the majority's opinion.

To this day, O'Connor's core legal philosophy remains difficult to define. She approaches each case with individual treatment and seeks always to arrive at a practical conclusion. Her moderation has helped her role as the centrist coalition-builder, which has consequently enhanced her influence on the Court.

Work Cited

http://www.oyez.org/oyez/resource/legal_entity/102/

http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96mar/oconnor.html

http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/justices/oconnor.bio.html

Show More
Related

  • How important was Phyllis Schlafly’s role in the defeat of the U.S. Equal Rights Amendment?

    2097 Words  | 5 Pages

    This investigation addresses the following question: How important was Phyllis Schlafly’s role in the defeat of the U.S. Equal Rights Amendment? In order to evaluate her importance, this investigation will address several factors that contributed to the defeat of the ERA, such as the negative portrayal of women by the press, the decriminalization of abortion, the split between feminists who wanted the ERA to pass and those who believed that its passage would lead to the deterioration of women’s protective laws, and the role of the Phyllis Schlafly and her Stop ERA campaign. One source used in this investigation, “Stop ERA,” is evaluated for its insight into Phyllis Schlafly’s plan on how to campaign against the ERA, as she was the author of this document. The second source, an excerpt from the article “The Equal Rights Amendment: A Constitutional Basis for Equal Rights of Women,” will be analyzed for its professional, relatively unbiased opinions; this article was written for the Yale Law Journal in 1971, meaning that it consists of a concrete legal analysis of the amendment from the time period in which it was being ratified.

    Read More

  • Bertha Wilson

    784 Words  | 2 Pages

    Bertha Wilson, most commonly known as the first woman to be a judge at the Supreme Court of Canada and she is remembered as a great leader and changed the lives of many people. Bertha Wilson showed many good character traits that all contributed to her in becoming a successful leader. Bertha Wilson was very intelligent. The first woman to judge at the Supreme Court of Canada showed integrity towards the fact that woman and men should be treated equally. Bertha Wilson was courageous and brave. A good and successful leader must always be intelligent, show integrity and be determined.

    Read More

  • Margaret Chase Smith’s “Declaration of Conscience”

    934 Words  | 2 Pages

    Margaret Chase Smith began her political career when a woman in Congress was a rarity. She won her first seat in the US House after the death of her husband in 1940. In 1949, Smith won a seat in the United States Senate and became the first woman to be in both houses of the Congress . At this time, the Senate floor did not have a woman’s restroom . However, Smith refused to believe that her gender made a difference in her career in politics .

    Read More

  • Margaret Sanger Analysis

    373 Words  | 1 Pages

    She argued and fought for all women to have access and with it freedom to choose when and or if they wanted to be mothers.

    Read More

  • A Case Against Warren and Abortion

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    middle of paper ... ... To speak plainly, the issue of abortion is a slippery slope of morality. While siding with the Pro-Choice side myself, it felt necessary to examine Warren’s opinion so as to give constructive criticism and potentially help strengthen her argument for the future. Through Warren’s lack of sound consideration for what constitutes a personhood and numerous issues regarding potential personhood, it is clear that the conversation still has a long way to go.

    Read More

  • Sarah Weddington: Roe vs. Wade

    746 Words  | 2 Pages

    The alias "Jane Roe" was used for Norma McCorvey, on whose behalf the suit was originally filed, alleging that the abortion law in Texas violated her constitutional rights and the rights of other women. The defendant was the district attorney of Dallas County, Texas, Henry B. Wade. Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee were the plaintiff's lawyers. John Tolle, Jay Floyd and Robert Flowers were the defendant's lawyers. Those on the Supreme Court in support of the Roe vs. Wade decision were: Harry Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Chief Justice Warren Burger, William O. Douglas, Thurgood Marshall, Lewis Powell and Potter Stewart. Those in the dissent were William Rehnquist and Byron White.

    Read More

  • Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

    2637 Words  | 6 Pages

    Women’s equality has made huge advancements in the United States in the past decade. One of the most influential persons to the movement has been a woman named Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Ruth faced gender discrimination many times throughout her career and worked hard to ensure that discrimination based on a person’s gender would be eliminated for future generations. Ginsburg not only worked to fight for women’s equality but fought for the rights of men, as well, in order to show that equality was a human right’s issue and not just a problem that women faced. Though she faced hardships and discrimination, Ruth never stopped working and thanks to her equality is a much closer reality than it was fifty years ago. When Ruth first started her journey in law, women were practically unheard of as lawyers; now three women sit on the bench of the highest court in the nation.

    Read More

  • Roe v. Wade 1973

    2148 Words  | 5 Pages

    Even to this day, women have not reached maximum equality, but the landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade has helped the women’s equality movement drastically take a step in the right direction. Prior to the case, women had their rights very limited and restricted. Everyone was and still is entitled to their basic rights, however pregnant women were not. Their first, fourth, fifth, ninth, and fourteenth amendment rights were violated and were not addressed until Jane Roe testified in court. The decision made by the court still has a lasting impact even to this day. The landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade was not just a win for Jane Roe, but a win for all women as it helped break the barrier that surrounded women’s equality.

    Read More

  • Roe V. Wade Persuasive Essay

    1034 Words  | 3 Pages

    Before abortions became legal, women felt the need to turn to someone for an abortion that was not sanitary or performed the correct way, many either died or left extremely ill. One specific woman felt the need to bring to everyone’s attention, that she should have the right to abort her baby if she wanted to. She fought for her right and many stood behind her and supported her. The case Roe v. Wade legalized abortions in 1973. Norma McCorvey, known as Jane Roe, fought for women’s rights against the state of Texas on two different occasions. Roe v. Wade made a huge impact to women around the country, by legalizing safe and reliable abortions.

    Read More

  • What The Matrix Of Privilege And Oppression?

    701 Words  | 2 Pages

    She believed in Standpoint Epistemology, a term to explain how people can have multiple viewpoints of the world based on what groups they fit into. In the article ‘Racial Divisions Challenge Gay Rights Movement’ we get a glimpse of what this is like for people when Jasmyne Cannick asks, “’I 'm black and I 'm also a lesbian, so, I mean, what side am I supposed to be on?’”(Karen Bates 2008). Being a lesbian during Proposition 8 she was excited for the possibility of legal marriage for gay couples, but being black she was raised, and her friends and family whom are black, are homophobic so the appose gays

    Read More

  • The Reproductive Right Debate

    2552 Words  | 6 Pages

    No other element of the Women’s Rights Movement has generated as much controversy as the debate over reproductive rights. As the movement gained momentum so did the demand for birth control, sex education, family planning and the repeal of all abortion laws. On January 22, 1973 the Supreme Court handed down the Roe v. Wade decision which declared abortion "fundamental right.” The ruling recognized the right of the individual “to be free from unwanted governmental intrusion into matters so fundamentally affecting a person as the right of a woman to decide whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.” (US Supreme Court, 1973) This federal-level ruling took effect, legalizing abortion for all women nationwide.

    Read More

  • Women after the American Revolution

    1957 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...ip between a man and his wife as opposed to patriarchal domination was considered the republican model. In the role of a mother, the republican woman was not as able to pursue involvement in the economy and her family’s income due to the increased duties of motherhood. Nonetheless, society recognized that the characteristics of women were ideal when caring for and educating children to become virtuous citizens, and so women were assigned responsibilities that had primarily been the father’s. And finally, politics excluded women because republican ideals deemed them unfit to make useful contributions, and they would be seen as less feminine and forgoing their rights as a woman if they tried to participate. Even so, many women believed that they could engage in state affairs and found methods such as satirical literature and petitions to discreetly express their views.

    Read More

  • The Republican Party: The Basic Principles Of The Republican Party

    798 Words  | 2 Pages

    Earlier in his political career, Ronald Reagan, the most vocal conservative Republican in recent years, was criticized for having switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party. He remarked that it was not he who left the Democratic Party; it was the Democratic Party that left him. That is, the basic principles that the conservative Republicans now adhere to were principles that many Americans, including the Democrats, once cherished. When the Democrats began to leave those conservative principles, Reagan had no choice but to leave it. The conservative members of the current Republican Party represents the best possible political choice for people who love freedom, want smaller government and taxes, and value the lives of the unborn.

    Read More

  • Abortion, Public Policy, & Texas

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    The drawback, however, is that there is no agreement upon when life begins and at which point one crosses the line from unalienable rights to murder. In 1973, in what has become a landmark ruling for women’s rights, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a woman’s right to an abortion. Ever since, individual states have adopted, altered, and/or mutilated the edict to fit their agendas – Texas included. However, the decision made by the justices in Roe v. Wade didn’t set clear cut, inarguable demarcation lines, which has allowed the fiery debate to consume the nation. Rather than establishing a legal ruling on what life is, or is not, the Supreme Court has remained silent on the issue.

    Read More

  • Essay On Judicial Restraint

    994 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout American history, Justices’ way of thinking can often be attributed to Judicial activism. Because Justices decisions are similar through similar cases, it is fairly easy to predict what an individual Justice’s ruling will be. In most cases, a Justice will use judicial restraint over and over again because it is his/her personal opinion to translate the Constitution perfectly. This same process is done in the opposite manner as well. Over time liberal and conservative justices have ruled over cases with their own views as their deciding

    Read More

More about Sandra Day O'Connor

Open Document