On anniversary of first woman joining U.S. Supreme Court, watch and read this

On Sept. 25, 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor became the first woman sworn into the U.S. Supreme Court.

Ronald Reagan had committed during his 1980 presidential campaign to appoint a woman to the Supreme Court, and he followed through on the promise by nominating O’Connor, who had extensive experience in multiple branches of government.

O’Connor was a judge on the Arizona Court of Appeals, had been the first woman in the nation to be a majority leader in a state legislature and worked as an assistant state attorney general.

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O’Connor spoke at Georgia Southern University in 1990, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution covered it. You can read the article from our archives here.

Credit: via Georgia Southern University

Credit: via Georgia Southern University

O’Connor died in 2023. Judge Adalberto Jordan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, who was one of O’Connor’s clerks, shared his memories of her with the AJC after she died.

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Here are more ways to dig deep into O’Connor’s life and legacy:

Online

The Supreme Court website has an online exhibit on O’Connor’s childhood and education, early career, appointment and retirement.

The Sandra Day O’Connor Institute also has an extensive biography and timeline of O’Connor’s life on its website.

Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law has an extensive listing of key opinions, publications and tributes.

Read

“First: Sandra Day O’Connor” by Evan Thomas is a New York Times-bestselling biography of Sandra Day O’Connor. You can buy the book on Amazon.

“Sisters in Law: How Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World” by Linda Hirshman looks at these two women who changed history. You can buy the book on Amazon.

Credit: JOYCE NALTCHAYAN/AFP/Getty Images

Watch

Watch this 35-minute interview film on Life Stories’ YouTube channel, in which O’Connor talks about growing up on a cattle ranch and going to Stanford University where she was inspired to pursue law.

On Apple TV+, you can buy and watch the 2021 documentary “Sandra Day O’Connor: The First.” The nearly two-hour film highlights political dynamics that influenced O’Connor’s tenure and that still feel relevant today.

There are also clips from the documentary that you can watch on YouTube from PBS American Experience.

Listen

While this podcast is not focused on Sandra Day O’Connor in particular, perhaps you’re now interested in learning more about the personalities on the Supreme Court and how the high court affects our lives. Strict Scrutiny is a podcast about the U.S. Supreme Court hosted by three constitutional law professors: Leah Litman, Kate Shaw and Melissa Murray.

AJC Her+Story is a new series in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution highlighting women founders, creators, executives and professionals. It is about building a community. Know someone the AJC should feature in AJC Her+Story? Email us at herstory@ajc.com with your suggestions. Check out all of our AJC Her+Story coverage at ajc.com/herstory.

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