R I P Sandra Day O'Connor

[doomsdave]

Sandra Day O’Connor, first woman Supreme Court justice, dies | CNN Politics

She was 93 and suffering from dementia.

She was a trailblazer's trailblazer. Hard to believe she was the very first one, and in my lifetime, too.

A true cowgirl, as Ruth Bader Ginsburg said.

O’Connor was well aware of the symbolism of her place in history as the first female justice.

“Let me tell you one reason why I think it’s important, and that is for the public generally to see and respect the fact that in positions of power and authority, that women are well-represented,” O’Connor said in a 2003 interview with CNN. “That it is not an all-male governance, as it once was.”

 

[denice]

She left the Court because her husband had dementia and then she ended up with it as well. I remember she was a swing vote for many years. Sometimes she would side with the liberal members and sometimes with the conservatives. When she was appointed there was the criticisms that she didn't have the experience as an appeals court justice but at that time women weren't on the right federal appellate court benches. She had known Rehnquist, they had dated when they were young and they went their separate ways. He actually mailed her a marriage proposal but she was dating the man that she eventually married at the time so she turned him down.

 

[neely]

She was not only one of the most powerful women in the country but also very bright having been accepted to Stanford University at the age 16. She will be fondly remembered.

 

[Margret]