Sandra Day O'Connor, first woman on the Supreme Court, dies

December 1, 2023 9:11 AM

Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman to serve on the court, died Friday in Phoenix, Arizona. She was 93 years old. As noted on Wikipedia: O'Connor most frequently sided with the Court's conservative bloc but demonstrated an ability to side with the Court's liberal members. She often wrote concurring opinions that sought to limit the reach of the majority holding. Her majority opinions in landmark cases include Grutter v. Bollinger and Hamdi v. Rumsfeld. She wrote in part the per curiam majority opinion in Bush v. Gore and was one of three co-authors of the lead opinion in Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
posted by wicked_sassy (29 comments total)

Here’s a nice analysis of her life and career from SCOTUSblog
posted by toodleydoodley at 9:14 AM on December 1, 2023

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posted by Silvery Fish at 9:17 AM on December 1, 2023

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posted by interogative mood at 9:28 AM on December 1, 2023

No dot for her. Whatever else she's responsible for, she's one of five responsible for Bush v. Gore, the timeline shift that brought us here to the brink of climate disaster, and countless other woes.
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:32 AM on December 1, 2023 [48 favorites]

Why you should not celebrate her life
posted by Ferreous at 9:36 AM on December 1, 2023 [17 favorites]

Back to hell with her. Wish it had happened much sooner.
posted by Random_Tangent at 9:43 AM on December 1, 2023 [8 favorites]

No dot for me. What a piece of shit.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 9:46 AM on December 1, 2023 [6 favorites]

I wish she had used her life and her position to make the world a better place, instead of doing the opposite of that.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:47 AM on December 1, 2023 [10 favorites]

From the link above:

But Reagan had pledged to name the first woman to the Supreme Court in 1980 (good job in completely dropping the ball on this Carter)

Lol yeah Carter how come you couldn't murder an SC justice so you could've appointed the first woman justice? What a fucking bumbler!
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 9:50 AM on December 1, 2023 [19 favorites]

Death at the Claw Machine: "Sandra Day O'Connor?? Is Henry Kissinger even -- What? Oh yeah. Sorry."
posted by The Bellman at 10:00 AM on December 1, 2023 [6 favorites]

Ooh, maybe Cheney could complete the trifecta!
posted by kirkaracha at 10:03 AM on December 1, 2023 [5 favorites]

May 3, 2023: New documents show how Sandra Day O’Connor helped George W. Bush win the 2000 election

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor provided the early framework that steered the outcome in the dispute over the 2000 presidential election and ensured George W. Bush would win the White House over Al Gore, Supreme Court documents released on Tuesday show.
...
The strong hand of O’Connor, who was at the ideological center of the court in this era, is not wholly surprising. O’Connor was also known for trying to get out ahead of deliberations, and her four-page memo was circulated to colleagues even before oral arguments. Her move may have guaranteed that she and Kennedy had the greatest influence on the final “per curiam” opinion that spoke for a five-justice majority.

Note: Article features video of future Supreme Court justice Rapey McBeerlover discussing the case.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:03 AM on December 1, 2023 [7 favorites]

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posted by jquinby at 10:06 AM on December 1, 2023

we would have found another path to hell with or without her. we are for now without her.

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posted by MonsieurPEB at 10:06 AM on December 1, 2023 [3 favorites]

O’Connor "became Chancellor at the College of William and Mary, replacing Henry Kissinger of all damn people."

Whoever replaced her in that position should be nervous.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:09 AM on December 1, 2023 [15 favorites]

Well, at least she was no Henry Kissinger.
posted by TedW at 10:11 AM on December 1, 2023 [6 favorites]

Very torn about giving her the dot.

On the one hand, she was a woman appointed to the highest court in the land at a time when few women had such power, and simply having a woman in a position of potentiality was a victory for all women.

However, the some of the things she did, and many of the things that she could have done and didn't, were a sad disappointment and a failure of not just her fellow women, but of the country as a whole.

No dot, but a sigh.
posted by BlueHorse at 10:23 AM on December 1, 2023 [16 favorites]

You do not in fact have to give it to them
posted by Ferreous at 10:33 AM on December 1, 2023 [22 favorites]

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posted by Tell Me No Lies at 12:07 PM on December 1, 2023

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posted by riruro at 12:16 PM on December 1, 2023

25 years late. Makes me wish I believed in hell so I could take comfort in knowing the deciding vote in Bush v. Gore was spending eternity next to Henry Kissinger.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 1:29 PM on December 1, 2023 [4 favorites]

She conceded that she should have stayed on the court; it was a bit of a blow to equal rights that she felt the need to leave to care for her husband, something it's so rare for men to do. And Bush v. Gore will haunt us for decades to come; a truly wretched decision. Once GOPers learned they could swipe an election, they never stopped trying. She was less awful than her GOP-appointed successors, a low bar, indeed.
posted by theora55 at 1:49 PM on December 1, 2023 [11 favorites]

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posted by kimberussell at 1:54 PM on December 1, 2023

Say hi to Henry and I hope the fire is hot!
posted by nofundy at 3:49 PM on December 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

Fuck her and good riddance.
posted by ivanthenotsoterrible at 4:27 PM on December 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

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posted by Toddles at 7:12 PM on December 1, 2023

I salute her breaking of the barrier and recognize that, as is often the case, only women who support the worst parts of the status quo in this country are in the position to break barriers in US politics.

At the same time I can draw a straight line from Bush v Gore (and her vote and politics around it) to Trump and J6. So that's not just the worst parts of the status quo, other than the way that Republicans are always the main characters of US politics with Democrats as antagonists.

I've been seeing a lot of variations on the Jewish curse/non-blessing about a person's memory being forgotten about Kissinger. Maybe the appropriate wish is that O'Connor's memory can be a warning.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 9:00 PM on December 1, 2023 [6 favorites]

A chance to speak only good of the dead: "She's dead? Good!"
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 11:14 AM on December 2, 2023 [1 favorite]

Bush v. Gore was unforgivable. We actually did have a stolen election this century; it was in 2000, and the Republicans stole it. No dot for her.
posted by Gelatin at 10:53 AM on December 4, 2023