Sandra Day O'Connor

Recent Decisions by Justice O'Connor

Biographical Data

Birth, Residence, and Family

Born March 26, 1930 in El Paso, Texas, daughter of Harry A. Day and Ada Mae Wilkey Day. Married John Jay O'Connor III in 1952. Three sons, Scott, Brian, and Jay.

Education

Stanford University, B.A., 1950, magna cum laude; LL.B., 1952, Order of the Coif, Board of Editors, Stanford Law Review.

Judicial Offices

Nominated by President Reagan as Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court on July 7, 1981; confirmed by the United States Senate on September 22, 1981; and took oath of office on September 25, 1981. Appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals by Governor Bruce Babbitt and served from 1979 to 1981. Elected judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court, Phoenix, Arizona. and served from 1975 to 1979.

Legislative Offices

Appointed State Senator in 1969 and subsequently reelected to two two-year terms, serving in the Arizona State Senate from 1969 to 1975; elected Senate Majority Leader in 1972: served as Chairman of the State, County, and Municipal Affairs Committee in 1972 and 1973; also served on the Legislative Council, on the Probate Code Commission, and on the Arizona Advisory Council on Intergovernmental Relations.

Legal Positions

Deputy County Attorney, San Mateo County, California, 1952 to 1953; Civilian Attorney for Quartermaster Market Center, Frankfurt, Germany, 1954 to 1957; private practice of law in Maryvale, Arizona, 1958 to 1960; Assistant Attorney General, Arizona, 1965 to 1969.

Civic Activities

Member, Executive Board, ABA Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative, 1990-present; member, Board of Trustees, Rockefeller Foundation, 2006-present; Chancellor, College of William and Mary, 2005-present; member, Advisory Board, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, 2006-present; member, ABA Commission on Civic Education and Separation of Powers, 2005-present; member, Executive Committee, ABA Museum of Law, 2000-present; member, Advisory Commission, ABA Standing Committee on the Law Library of Congress, 2002-present; member, Advisory Committee, American Society of International Law, Judicial, 2001-present; honorary member, Advisory Committee for the Judiciary Leadership Development Council; honorary chair, America’s 400th Anniversary: Jamestown 2007, 2006-present; co-chair, National Advisory Council, Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, 2005-present; member, Selection Committee, Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, 2005-present; member, Advisory Board, Stanford Center on Ethics, 2005-present. Member, National Board of the Smithsonian Associates, 1981 to present; President, member, Board of Trustees, The Heard Museum, 1968 to 1974, 1976 to 1981; member, Salvation Army Advisory Board, 1975 to 1981; member, Vice President, Soroptimist Club of Phoenix, 1978 to 1981; member, Board of Visitors, Arizona State University Law School, 1981; member, Liaison Committee on Medical Education, 1981; member, Advisory Board, and Vice President, National Conference of Christians and Jews, Maricopa County, 1977 to 1981; member, Board of Trustees, Stanford University, 1976 to 1981; member, Board of Directors, and Secretary, Arizona Academy, 1969 to 1975; member, Board of Junior Achievement, Arizona, 1975 to 1979; member, Board of Directors, Phoenix Historical Society, 1974 to 1978.

Other Activities

Member, Anglo-American Exchange, 1980; Chairman, Arizona Supreme Court Committee to Reorganize Lower Courts, 1974-75; Chairman, Maricopa County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service, 1960-62; former member, State Bar of Arizona Committees on Legal Aid, Public Relations, Lower Court Reorganization, Continuing Legal Education; Chairman, Maricopa County Juvenile Detention Home Visiting Board, 1963-64; Chairman, Maricopa County Superior Court Judges' Training and Education Committee, 1977-79; member, National Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services, 1974-76; member, Arizona State Personnel Commission, 1968-69; Vice Chairman, Arizona Select Law Enforcement Review Commission, 1979-80; member, Maricopa County Board of Adjustments and Appeals, 1963-64; member, Arizona Criminal Code Commission, 1974-76; Cathedral Chapter of the Washington National Cathedral, 1991-99.

Memberships in Professional Organizations

American Bar Association, State Bar of Arizona, State Bar of California, Maricopa County Bar Association, Arizona Judges' Association, National Association of Women Judges, Arizona Women Lawyers' Association.

Source: U.S. Supreme Court