Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, a towering Arizona figure, spent her formative days at Lazy B Ranch in southeastern Arizona.
In Arizona, she has the distinction of serving in each branch of government after working in private practice for several years in Phoenix and becoming an assistant attorney general at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
In 1969, she was appointed to a vacancy in the Arizona Senate. In 1970, she won the election to the seat and was named as majority leader in 1973, the first woman to hold such a role in any state’s upper legislative chamber. In 1974, she left the legislature to pursue her career as a jurist, first at the Superior Court in Maricopa County (1975-1979) and then as a judge on the Arizona Court of Appeals (1979-1981).
Justice O’Connor was a founder of both the Arizona Women Lawyers Association and the National Association of Women Judges. She was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan as the first person appointed to the nation’s Court in 24 years, with state court experience, and the first justice in 32 years with lawmaking experience. Most notably though, she was appointed as the first female Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court where she served until her retirement in 2006.
Justice O'Connor's relentless public service at the state and national levels made her a leader among her peers to build a legacy that will live on through the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute for American Democracy dedicated to promoting the ideals of civil discourse and civics education.
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor passed away on December 1, 2023, at age 93. Justice O’Connor’s impact is still felt today through her legacy in more than 160 judicial officers and nearly 3,000 employees of the Judicial Branch of Arizona in Maricopa County.
Want to learn more about Justice O'Connor? Visit the Maricopa County Justice Museum and Learning Center on the 6th floor of the Old Courthouse building located at 125 W Washington Street in Phoenix.