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Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was not just a trailblazer, though she certainly was that as the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. She was also a legal titan who left a legacy of pragmatism, intelligence, grace and independence.
O’Connor died Friday at age 93, having retired in 2006 after 24 years on the nation’s highest court.
“A daughter of the American Southwest, Sandra Day O’Connor blazed an historic trail as our nation’s first female Justice,” Chief Justice John Roberts said in a court-issued statement. “She met that challenge with undaunted determination, indisputable ability, and engaging candor.”
O’Connor has been fondly remembered, and rightfully so, as both a role model and a force on the court. She not only broke barriers, she also helped shape a pragmatic approach to jurisprudence that, at least for a while, kept the court more closely aligned with the realities and views of the people it serves.
“The passing of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor reminds all of us of what an extraordinary woman and justice she was. As the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, she was a trailblazer and a role model for girls and women,” Sen. Susan Collins said in a statement on Friday. “She exemplified excellence in public service. I was honored to get to know her during her service on the court and have wonderful memories of the annual dinners that the women of the Senate had with the women who were serving on the court.”
O’Connor didn’t seek the spotlight, and perhaps that is part of the reason why she so excelled in it. As she explained, she did not anticipate the massive impact her appointment to the court, by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, would have.
“I had no idea when I was appointed how much it would mean to many people around the country,” she said years ago.“It affected them in a very personal way. People saw it as a signal that there are virtually unlimited opportunities for women. It’s important to parents for their daughters, and to daughters for themselves.”
Often, a good way to measure a person’s impact is to seek the input of those around them — not just of those who agreed with them frequently, but with those who would think (and in this case, rule) differently. Though both conservatives, O’Connor and Justice Clarence Thomas surely had differing views and approaches, and found themselves on different sides of various arguments. When she retired, he called her “an outstanding colleague, civil in dissent and gracious when in the majority.”
She was also often convincing when in the majority. Though recently and unfortunately the Supreme Court has overruled her and others’ pragmatic balancing of rights in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, their perspective provided at the time remains instructive today.
“Some of us as individuals find abortion offensive to our most basic principles of morality, but that cannot control our decision,” reads the court’s decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey that O’Connor helped author. “Our obligation is to define the liberty of all, not to mandate our own moral code.”
Far too many people, whether they be current Supreme Court justices, members of Congress or members of the public, could stand to review this thoughtful approach. In so many ways, Sandra Day O’Connor served as a powerful role model — not just for the girls and women she helped in breaking barriers, but for all Americans.