Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. paid a wonderful tribute to former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on Thursday, celebrating her legacy as the first woman on the Supreme Court and her commitment to advancing politics and civility after her retirement.
During an award ceremony at Duke University to recognize her contributions to civic education, Justice Roberts reiterated his admiration for his former colleague, a critical swing justice often referred to as the most powerful woman in America. He eulogized her in December shortly after her death at 93.
“Sandra Day O’Connor broadened the public image of what it means to look like a judge,” he said. “He sounded the alarm about the growing lack of appreciation of what it means to be a citizen.”
For her work in civic education, she was recognized Thursday with the Bolch Award for the Rule of Law, an award that has often been given to judges, including former Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, for lifetime achievement. The award was accepted by her son Scott O’Connor.
Chief Justice Roberts and Justice O’Connor have long crossed paths.
On his first day at the Justice Department in 1981, the young Mr. Roberts was assigned to help prepare the future justice for her Senate confirmation hearings, drafting answers to questions he expected to face. It was finally confirmed by a vote of 99 against.
Justice O’Connor would then sit on the bench for each of the more than three dozen cases Chief Justice Roberts argued before the Supreme Court as a lawyer, he told the audience Thursday.
Years later, in 2005, he was nominated by President George W. Bush to succeed Justice O’Connor when she announced her retirement. The two eventually served alongside each other on the bench for less than a year after the death of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist left a more urgent position.
For a brief period before Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s arrival in 2020, Justice Roberts had a glimpse of the role Justice O’Connor played for much of her time on the court, serving as a swing vote and ideological center. In her nearly 25 years on the court, Justice O’Connor often struck a middle ground on contentious issues such as abortion, gay rights and affirmative action.
Echoing previous public statements commemorating her, Justice Roberts paid tribute to Justice O’Connor’s pioneering role, citing how she had laid the groundwork for women to follow at a time when women were not considered equal.
Flipping through photos from her early career, she paused several times to point out the apparent lack of other women around her in her law school class, at a trial court competition and later at the Supreme Court, drawing laughs from the crowd.
“I certainly felt that she felt she had a responsibility as the first woman on the Supreme Court to show that she couldn’t help but keep up with the boys,” he said Thursday. “But I think she also felt a responsibility as the most powerful woman in America to be out there, putting her best foot forward and promoting the values that help define our country.”
Justice O’Connor stepped down in 2006 to care for her husband, who was battling Alzheimer’s disease, but remained active in public life, hearing cases in appellate courts and promoting civic education, including by creating an online program . In 2018, he announced that he had dementia.
However, her example helped open the door for others. Today, four of the nine judges are women.
