Former Justice O'Connor to speak at convocation
Parker McAllister
/Reporter
Sandra Day O’Connor is scheduled to speak at Fall
Convocation on Sept. 19. Her visit is very timely, as the
inauguration for the Elon Law School took place on Aug.
10.
O’Connor was born on March 26, 1930, in El Paso,
Texas. She was raised on a large cattle-farm where at a young
age she became a copious reader, could accurately fire rifles
and enjoyed riding horses. Her nearest neighbors were 25
miles from her house, so she spent time a lot of time with
family, fellow ranchers and several pets, including a
bobcat.
From kindergarten to twelfth grade, she lived with her
grandmother, who helped her gain confidence in herself and
become accomplished.
After graduating from high school, O’Connor attended
Stanford University, where she majored in economics and
planned to use the knowledge she acquired to run a ranch of
her own. After a legal dispute concerning her family’s
farm, O’Connor became fascinated by law and decided to
attend Stanford Law School. She graduated third out of 102
students in her class, and it was here that she met her
future husband, John Jay O’Connor.
Despite her tremendous accomplishments at Stanford, finding
a job did not come easily in this male-dominated profession.
O’Connor became discouraged, but she accepted a public
service job as a deputy county attorney for San Mateo,
Calif.
A year later, she moved to Frankfurt, Germany, with her
husband, where he served as judge advocate general corps with
the army for three years.
In 1957, the couple moved back to the U.S. and settled down
in Phoenix, Ariz. Once again, O’Connor found it
difficult to acquire a position in a law firm, so she decided
to open her own. The large majority of females at this time
chose between two professions: nursing or teaching. After
successfully handling several small cases, she gave birth to
her first son and took a break. During this time she became
engaged in the community by volunteering for the Red Cross,
the Arizona State Hospital, the Arizona State Bar
Association, and a few local schools.
After spending five years nurturing her child and being
civically active, she was appointed to be a State Senator of
Arizona by Jack Williams, who vacated his seat. She defended
her spot for two successive terms and even became majority
leader, making her the first female majority leader in the
history of our country.
In 1974, she ran for Maricopa County Superior Court. After
gaining confidence from her grandmother, exhibiting a great
amount of patience with her early attempts to be a part of a
law firm, and practicing hard work in all of her endeavors,
she became a reliable and highly respected judge.
In 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor was nominated by Ronald
Reagan to serve on the Supreme Court, making her the first
woman to be considered for the position. She was unanimously
chosen by the Senate. As a result of O’Connor’s
appointment, the title of Mr. Justice was changed to
Justice.
During O’Connor’s 24-year term, she made a
significant impact on the judicial system. She was considered
a moderate conservative, meaning she held conservative
values, but would compromise on certain issues. When a vote
was split between conservatives and liberals, she often
served as the deciding vote.
O’Connor was also well-known as an advocate of
state’s rights, which were somewhat thwarted after the
Great Depression when Franklin D. Roosevelt tightened the
federal government’s control with his New Deal
plans.
On July 1, 2005, O’Connor left big shoes to fill when
she vacated her seat as Supreme Court Justice to spend more
time with her family.
Contact Parker McAllister at pendulum@elon.edu or
278-7247. | 
