The Achievement
On September 25, 1981, the United States Senate confirmed Sandra Day O'Connor as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by a vote of 99 to 0. She was the first woman to serve on the nation's highest court in its 191-year history.
President Ronald Reagan had nominated her on July 7, 1981, fulfilling a campaign promise to appoint the first woman to the Supreme Court. O'Connor was 51 years old at the time of her confirmation.
She served for nearly 25 years, retiring on January 31, 2006. During that time, she became known as the Court's most important swing vote, often determining the outcome of the most divisive cases on abortion, affirmative action, and the separation of church and state.
Life Before the Court
Sandra Day grew up on the Lazy B Ranch, a 198,000-acre cattle ranch straddling the Arizona-New Mexico border. The ranch had no running water or electricity until she was seven. She learned to drive a truck, fix fences, and brand cattle alongside the ranch hands.
She enrolled at Stanford University at age 16, earning her undergraduate degree in economics in 1950 and a law degree from Stanford Law School in 1952. She graduated third in her class. The student who graduated first was William Rehnquist, who would later become Chief Justice and sit beside her on the Supreme Court.
Building a Career When No One Would Hire Her
The legal profession in 1952 simply did not hire women attorneys. O'Connor applied to firms across California and received either rejections or offers to work as a secretary. She later recalled that the partner at one firm told her: "We don't hire women lawyers, but how well do you type?"
She found work as a deputy county attorney in San Mateo County, California, taking the job without pay. She and her husband John O'Connor then moved to Germany, where she worked as a civilian attorney for the U.S. Army.
Returning to Arizona in 1958, she opened a small law practice, served as an assistant attorney general for the state, and was appointed to fill a vacancy in the Arizona State Senate in 1969. She won election to the seat in 1970 and became the first woman majority leader of any state senate in the United States in 1973.
From there, she moved to the bench: elected to the Maricopa County Superior Court in 1974, then appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals in 1979.
The Nomination
Reagan had made the pledge on the campaign trail in 1980: he would appoint the first woman to the Supreme Court. When Justice Potter Stewart announced his retirement in 1981, Reagan kept his word.
O'Connor was not a household name. She had no federal judicial experience. Conservative groups initially objected, worried about her stance on abortion (as a state legislator, she had voted for a bill to decriminalize abortion in some cases). The Moral Majority's Jerry Falwell said "every good Christian should be concerned."
Barry Goldwater, the conservative senator from O'Connor's home state of Arizona, responded: "Every good Christian ought to kick Jerry Falwell right in the ass."
The Senate confirmed her unanimously, 99-0.
Key Decisions and the Swing Vote
O'Connor quickly became the justice who mattered most in closely divided cases. On a Court that often split 4-4 on ideological lines, her vote was the deciding one in case after case.
In Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), she co-authored the plurality opinion that upheld the core of Roe v. Wade while allowing states to impose certain restrictions. In Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), she wrote the majority opinion upholding affirmative action in university admissions, stating that race-conscious programs should no longer be necessary in 25 years.
Her approach was pragmatic rather than ideological. She decided cases narrowly, often declining to establish broad rules. Legal scholars called her the most powerful woman in America, though she bristled at the characterization.
Retirement and Later Years
O'Connor retired from the Court in 2006 to care for her husband John, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In a painful irony, John O'Connor's condition deteriorated to the point that he no longer recognized Sandra and formed a new romantic attachment to another patient at his care facility. She spoke about the situation publicly, saying she was glad he was happy.
After retirement, she remained active in public life, founding iCivics, a nonprofit that creates free civics education games and resources for students. The organization has reached millions of students.
In 2018, O'Connor announced that she had been diagnosed with the early stages of dementia. She withdrew from public life. She died on December 1, 2023, at age 93.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was the first woman on the Supreme Court?
Sandra Day O'Connor, nominated by President Ronald Reagan and confirmed unanimously 99-0 by the Senate on September 25, 1981.
How long did Sandra Day O'Connor serve on the Supreme Court?
Nearly 25 years, from September 25, 1981, to January 31, 2006.
How many women have served on the Supreme Court?
Six, as of 2024: O'Connor (1981), Ginsburg (1993), Sotomayor (2009), Kagan (2010), Barrett (2020), and Jackson (2022).
Why couldn't Sandra Day O'Connor get a job after law school?
Despite graduating third in her class at Stanford Law in 1952, private law firms would not hire women as attorneys. She was offered only secretarial positions.
Who was the first Black woman on the Supreme Court?
Ketanji Brown Jackson, confirmed in April 2022.