Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, to lie in repose

WASHINGTON– WASHINGTON (AP) — The late Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court and a steadfast voice of moderate conservatism for more than two decades, will be laid to rest in the court’s Great Hall on Monday.

O’Connor, originally from Arizona, died Dec. 1 at age 93.

His casket will be carried up the steps in front of the courthouse, passing beneath the iconic words etched into the pediment, “Equal Justice Under Law,” and placed in the courthouse’s Great Hall. C-SPAN will air a private ceremony held before court. The room is open to the public, allowing people to pay their respects afterwards, from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The last justice to remain in repose on the court was Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second justice. After her death in 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, mourners passed by her casket outside the building, on the porch at the top of the stairs.

Funeral services for O’Connor are scheduled for Tuesday at Washington National Cathedral, where President Joe Biden and Chief Justice John Roberts are scheduled to speak.

O’Connor was nominated in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan and later confirmed by the Senate, ending 191 years of male exclusivity on the high court. The daughter of a rancher who was largely unknown on the national scene until her appointment, she received more letters than any member in the history of the court during her first year and would come to be known as the most powerful woman in the country.

She wielded considerable influence on the nine-member court, generally favoring states in disputes with the federal government and often siding with police when they faced accusations of violating people’s rights. However, her influence could perhaps best be seen in the court’s rulings on abortion. She twice joined the majority in decisions that upheld and reaffirmed Roe v. Wade, the decision that said women have a constitutional right to abortion.

Thirty years after that decision, a more conservative court overturned Roe, and the opinion was written by the man who took its place, Justice Samuel Alito.

O’Connor grew up riding horses, herding cattle, and driving trucks and tractors on the family’s sprawling ranch in Arizona and developed a tenacious, independent spirit.

She was one of the most prominent graduates of Stanford Law School in 1952, but quickly discovered that most large law firms of the time did not hire women. A company in Los Angeles offered her a job as a secretary.

She built a career that included service as a member of the Arizona Legislature and a state judge before her appointment to the Supreme Court at age 51. When she first arrived, she didn’t even have a place near the courtroom to go to the bathroom. . This was soon rectified, but she remained the only woman on the court until 1993.

She retired at age 75, citing her husband’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease as her main reason for leaving the court. John O’Connor died three years later, in 2009.

After her retirement, O’Connor remained active, serving as a judge on several federal appeals courts, advocating for judicial independence, and serving on the Iraq Study Group. President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

She regretted that a woman had not been chosen to replace her, but lived to see a record four women serve at the same time on the Supreme Court.

He died in Phoenix from complications related to advanced dementia and a respiratory illness. His survivors include his three sons, Scott, Brian and Jay, six grandchildren and one brother.

The family has asked that donations be made to iCivics, the group she founded to promote civic education.

___

Associated Press writer Mark Sherman contributed to this report.