Sandra Day O'Connor, LLB Biography
- Title:
- Former Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court
- Position:
- Pro to the question "Should the Words “under God” Be in the US Pledge of Allegiance?"
- Reasoning:
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“Fifty years have passed since the words ‘under God’ were added, a span of time that is not inconsiderable given the relative youth of our Nation. In that time, the Pledge has become, alongside the singing of the Star-Spangled Banner, our most routine ceremonial act of patriotism; countless schoolchildren recite it daily, and their religious heterogeneity reflects that of the Nation as a whole. As a result, the Pledge and the context in which it is employed are familiar and nearly inseparable in the public mind.”
Concurring opinion in Elk Grove v. Newdow, June 14, 2004
- Involvement and Affiliations:
-
- Lifetime Achievement Award, National Association of Women Judges, 2006
- The West Point Sylvanus Thayer Award, West Point, 2005
- Joan and David Lincoln Award for Public Virtue. Arizona State University, 2005
- Benjamin Franklin Creativity Laureate Prize, Smithsonian Associates and the Creativity Foundation, 2005
- Compass Award for Excellence in Civic Learning, PennCord, 2005
- Associate Justice, United States Supreme Court, 1981-2005
- Bruce K. Gould Award, Touro Law Center, 2004
- Aspen Institute Public Service Award, Aspen Institute, 2004
- Philadelphia Liberty Medal, We the People 2000, 2003
- Sandra Day O’Connor Medal of Honor, Seton Hall University School of Law, 1992
- Judge, Arizona Court of Appeals, 1979-1981
- Judge, Maricopa County Superior Court, 1975-1979
- Senate Majority Leader, Arizona State Senate, 1973-1974
- Senator, Arizona State Senate, 1969-1973
- Assistant Attorney General, State of Arizona, 1965–1969
- Attorney, Maryvale, Arizona, 1958–1960
- Civilian Attorney, Quartermaster Market Center, Frankfurt, Germany, 1954–1957
- Deputy County Attorney, San Mateo County, California, 1952–1953
- Education:
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- LLB, Stanford Law School, 1952
- BA, Magna Cum Laude, Economics, Stanford University, 1950
- Other:
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- First woman appointed to the US Supreme Court
- Quoted in: