35 Sandra Day O'Connor Quotes From The First Female Associate Justice
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Sandra Day O'Connor served as an Associate Justice at the Supreme Court of the United States.
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan, she was known for being the first woman in the United States Supreme Court. She served in the role from 25 September 1981 to her retirement in 2006.
O'Connor was born on 26 March 1930 in El Paso, Texas. She worked as a deputy county attorney in San Mateo, California, from 1952-1953. She practiced law in Maryvale, Arizona, from 1958-1960 and served as assistant attorney general of Arizona from 1965-1969.
In 1969, O'Connor was appointed to fill a vacant seat in the Arizona Senate and was then re-elected to two, two-year terms and became the first woman in the United States to serve as a state senate majority leader.
In 1975, she was elected judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court, where she served until 1979 when she was appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals.
She served on the Court of Appeals until her appointment to the United States Supreme Court in 1981.
Former President of United States Barack Obama awarded Justice O’Connor with the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, on 12 August 2009.
Also, read Thurgood Marshall Quotes and Sonia Sotomayor Quotes.
Famous Sandra Day O' Connor Quotes
Working in the Supreme Court of the United States for 12 years, Day O' Connor has experienced a lot. Here are a few famous quotes from Sandra Day O' Connor.
1. "Even in my own time and in my own life, I have witnessed a revolution."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
2. "Justice Ginsburg is a very competent justice, and it is a joy to have her on the court, but particularly for me it is a pleasure to have a second woman on the court."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
3. "The members of the court were just delighted to have a ninth member - male or female. They were all kind and welcoming."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
4. "Society as a whole benefit immeasurably from a climate in which all persons, regardless of race or gender, may have the opportunity to earn respect, responsibility, advancement, and remuneration based on ability."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
5. "The courts of this country should not be the places where the resolution of disputes begins. They should be the places where the disputes end after alternative methods of resolving disputes have been considered and tried."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
6. "The freedom to criticize judges and other public officials is necessary to a vibrant democracy. The problem comes when healthy criticism is replaced with more destructive intimidation and sanctions."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
7. "We have a complex system of government. You have to teach it to every generation."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
8. "It's hard to have little children and a career at the same time. There is no time left for you as a woman."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
9. "I need to retire from retirement."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
10. "As a citizen, you need to know how to be a part of it, how to express yourself — and not just by voting."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
11. "Each justice hires their own clerks, and applications are made individually to the justices. It isn't a group decision."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
Quotes By Sandra Day O' Connor
Take a look at some thoughts on success by the first Associate Justice of The Supreme Court of the United States.
12. "Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time. No one learns more about a problem than the person at the bottom."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
13. "I don't know that there are any shortcuts to doing a good job."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
14. "We don't accomplish anything in this world alone."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
Quotes By First American Female Associate Justice
Being an Associate Justice and a mother, Sandra Day O' Connor faced so many problems but didn't quit at all. Have a look at few famous quotes by her which are an inspiration for women now and for years to come.
15. "The more education a woman has, the wider the gap between men's and women's earnings for the same work."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
16. "How dare you make my life a felony."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
17. "Young people can't name a single Justice on the United States Supreme Court but they can name all three judges on American Idol. It's pretty sad."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
18. "I worked for no salary and I put my desk in with the secretary. "
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
19. "Each of us brings to our job, whatever it is, our lifetime of experience and our values."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
20. "Having family responsibilities and concerns just has to make you a more understanding person."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
21. "Yes, I will bring the understanding of a woman to the Court, but I doubt that alone will affect my decisions."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
22. "There was no hostility at the court when I arrived."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
23. "You're there to make legal decisions based on the law and the Constitution of the United States."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
24. "A moment of silence is not inherently religious."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
25. "I think most people didn't want to do court duty."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
26. "Liberty finds no refuge in a jurisprudence of doubt."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
Quotes By Author O'Connor
When women were taken for granted, Sandra took a stand with these quotes.
27. "The power I exert on the court depends on the power of my arguments, not on my gender."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
28. "You have a job to do and it doesn't mean succumbing to somebody's emotional pitch made out on the sidewalk."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
29. "This chance will stand before you only once."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
30. "Unfortunately civility is hard to codify or legislate, but you know it when you see it. It’s possible to disagree without being disagreeable."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
31. "We pay a price when we deprive children of the exposure to the values, principles, and education they need to make them good citizens."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
32. "It's wonderful to be the first to do something but I didn't want to be the last."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
33. "I tried to decide each case based on the law and the Constitution."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
34. "It is difficult to discern a serious threat to religious liberty from a room of silent, thoughtful schoolchildren."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
35. "It is true that many Americans find the Commandments in accord with their personal beliefs. But we do not count heads before enforcing the First Amendment."
- Sandra Day O' Connor.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Sandra Day O' Connor Quotes, then why not take a look at Civil Rights quotes or Women's History Month quotes?
Main image credit: Rob Crandall / Shutterstock.com
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A professional content writer hailing from Kolkata, India, with extensive experience in the corporate sector, Writvik Gupta has worked with several reputed companies, including ITC WelcomHotel Jodhpur, Bharti AXA Life Insurance, Aryan Imaging, and Eduquity. He also serves as a consultant for a startup based in Bangalore. With a passion for the outdoors, Writvik enjoys trekking and traveling to remote destinations. He also has a keen interest in exploring various cuisines and regularly volunteers for social causes.
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