Supreme Court pioneer: Sandra Day O’Connor dies at 93

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The former judge died on Friday morning (local time) in Phoenix, Arizona, the Supreme Court in Washington announced. Accordingly, she succumbed to complications of advanced dementia and a respiratory disease. O’Connor made history in the United States when she became the first woman to become a Supreme Court justice in 1981. She cast the deciding vote in many rulings, partly with her liberal colleagues and partly with her conservative colleagues. As a result, she was considered one of the most influential women in the United States during her time on the Supreme Court.

O’Connor was nominated by then US President Ronald Reagan and retired in 2006 – also to care for her ailing husband. Supreme Court judges are appointed for life. O’Connor was nominated by Republican Reagan. However, this was not always true for conservatives – for example when it came to the issue of abortion or the separation of church and state. O’Connor did not have a colleague on the Supreme Court until 1993 when Ruth Bader Ginsburg, considered a left-wing justice, was appointed as a justice. She remained in office until her death, passing away in 2020.

O’Connor was born in Texas in 1930 and studied law at the renowned Stanford University in California. She became involved with the Republicans and became a senator in the Arizona Senate. Of her time on the Supreme Court, the Washington Post writes: “She never went far enough in any area of ​​law to fully satisfy conservatives or liberals, Republicans or Democrats.”

One decision that particularly focused on O’Connor was the historic negotiations over the outcome of the 2000 presidential election. At the time, the question was whether votes in the crucial state of Florida should be recounted. The Supreme Court declared the election over, making Republican President George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore the losers. Many liberals disliked O’Connor for making a decision in Bush’s favor. (SDA)

Source:Blick