Sandra Day O’Connor Dies: First Female Supreme Court Justice Was 93
deadline.comSandra Day O’Connor, the first female justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, has died. She was 93. In an announcement on Friday morning, the court said that she died in Phoenix, AZ of complications related to advanced dementia, probably Alzheimers, and a respiratory illness.
O’Connor was nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and, although she was appointed by a conservative, she was an important swing vote on the high court by the time she retired in 2006.
Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement, “A daughter of the American Southwest, Sandra Day O’Connor blazed an historic trail as our nation’s first female justice.
She met that challenge with undaunted determination, indisputable ability and engaging candor.” O’Connor sided with the court’s conservative wing on a number of landmark decisions, perhaps most prominently in the 2000 decision that ended the Florida vote recount, effectively affirming George W.
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