In Memoriam 2023: Sandra Day O'Connor (1930–2023) Tribute List

American jurist, attorney, and politician, Sandra Day O'Connor was Reagan-nominated and unanimously Senate-confirmed as the first female Supreme Court Justice, serving from 1981 to 2006. Prior to the Court, she held high-level judicial and state senate positions in Arizona. As a moderate conservative on the Supreme Court, she wrote majority opinions in numerous landmark cases on abortion, affirmative action, sex discrimination, voting rights, and the 2000 presidential decision, Bush v. Gore. Justice O'Connor was known for clear-eyed judicial reasoning, consensus building, and civility. After retirement, she advocated tirelessly for judicial independence, civics education, and the Rule of Law. In 2009, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This tribute highlights O'Connor's achievements through news articles, biographical information, and quotes.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. undaunted
    resolutely courageous
    Chief Justice John Roberts mourned her death. "A daughter of the American Southwest, Sandra Day O'Connor blazed an historic trail as our Nation's first female Justice," Roberts said in a statement issued by the court. "She met that challenge with undaunted determination, indisputable ability, and engaging candor."
    – PBS
  2. candor
    the quality of being honest and straightforward
    Chief Justice John Roberts mourned her death. "A daughter of the American Southwest, Sandra Day O'Connor blazed an historic trail as our Nation's first female Justice," Roberts said in a statement issued by the court. "She met that challenge with undaunted determination, indisputable ability, and engaging candor."
    – PBS
  3. momentous
    of very great significance
    Justice Sonia Sotomayor described her as an "American hero" while Justice Elena Kagan said she had a "momentous and inspirational" tenure on the court.
    – NBC News
  4. inspirational
    serving to uplift the mind, spirit, or creative powers
    Justice Sonia Sotomayor described her as an "American hero" while Justice Elena Kagan said she had a "momentous and inspirational" tenure on the court.
    – NBC News
  5. adequate
    having the requisite qualities or resources to meet a task
    "I felt a special responsibility...as the first woman. I could either do an adequate job so it would be possible for other women to be appointed without [people] saying, 'Oh, see, a woman can't do it,' so it became very important that I perform in a way that wouldn't provide some reason or cause not to have more women in the future. That was very important to me."
    – NPR
  6. guile
    shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception
    A self-professed "cowgirl from the Arizona desert," the conservative justice had to constantly prove she was better than men and on the side of women.
    O'Connor did so with guile, drawing on her political acumen as a Republican activist and state senator to navigate the choppy waters of Supreme Court decisions.
    – BBC
  7. acumen
    shrewdness shown by keen insight
    A self-professed "cowgirl from the Arizona desert," the conservative justice had to constantly prove she was better than men and on the side of women.
    O'Connor did so with guile, drawing on her political acumen as a Republican activist and state senator to navigate the choppy waters of Supreme Court decisions.
    – BBC
  8. moderate
    a person who takes a position in the political center
    Ideologically, O'Connor was a moderate, a position that often gave her the decisive swing vote in a court sharply divided between conservative and liberal justices.
    BBC
  9. conservative
    having social or political views favoring the right wing
    Over time, she became known as a moderate conservative and often the swing vote on hot-button social issues.
    – CNN
  10. advocate
    a person who pleads for a person, cause, or idea
    Chief Justice John Roberts described O’Connor as a "patriot" and a "fiercely independent defender of the rule of law, and an eloquent advocate for civics education."
    – CNN
  11. centrist
    a person who takes a position in the political center
    Known as a centrist, a consensus builder, and a "mother hen" to her staff, she now leads iCivics, a platform for teaching kids about government.
    – Harvard Business Review
  12. consensus
    agreement in the judgment reached by a group as a whole
    Known as a centrist, a consensus builder, and a "mother hen" to her staff, she now leads iCivics, a platform for teaching kids about government.
    – Harvard Business Review
  13. jurisprudence
    the branch of philosophy concerned with the law
    Her jurisprudence, Justice Kennedy wrote in a tribute published after her retirement, was "grounded in real experience."
    – The New York Times
  14. crusade
    be an advocate for
    She went on to lead a multifaceted life, crisscrossing the United States and the rest of the world, crusading against threats to judicial independence and advocating for more civics instruction in public schools to teach students about the structure of the U.S. government.
    – NPR
  15. civics
    the study of the duties and rights of citizenship
    She went on to lead a multifaceted life, crisscrossing the United States and the rest of the world, crusading against threats to judicial independence and advocating for more civics instruction in public schools to teach students about the structure of the U.S. government.
    – NPR
  16. barrier
    any condition that makes it difficult to make progress
    "As women achieve power, the barriers will fall. As society sees what women can do, as women see what women can do, there will be more women out there doing things, and we’ll all be better off for it."
    – Supreme Court
  17. bedrock
    basic principles from which other truths can be derived
    "It is clear that judicial independence is a bedrock value of our system of government," O'Connor said during the commencement ceremony in the Sunken Gardens. "Unfortunately, however, the concept is under serious attack at both the state and national level."
    – William and Mary School of Law
  18. tenure
    the term during which some position is held
    During her remarkable Supreme Court tenure which spanned nearly a quarter century, O'Connor played a crucial role in many key decisions, and was highly regarded an independent thinker and a leader on the court.
    – O'Connor Institute
Created on Sat Dec 02 20:03:43 EST 2023 (updated Tue Dec 05 10:58:53 EST 2023)

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