Adapted from a story by The Washington Post’s Robert Barnes.
She added: “How fortunate I feel to be an American and to have been presented with the remarkable opportunities available to the citizens of our country. As a young cowgirl from the Arizona desert, I never could have imagined that one day I would become the first woman justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.”
O’Connor was nominated to the court by President Ronald Reagan, who was fulfilling a campaign pledge to name the first female justice. She served for a quarter century, leaving to take care of her husband John, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. in an accompanying statement called her a trailblazer.
“She broke down barriers for women in the legal profession to the betterment of that profession and the country as a whole. She serves as a role model not only for girls and women, but for all those committed to equal justice under law.”
