A state of war is not a blank check... when it comes to the rights of the Nation's citizens. Sandra Day O'Connor More Quotes by Sandra Day O'Connor More Quotes From Sandra Day O'Connor My concern was whether I could do the job of a justice well enough to convince the nation that my appointment was the right move. Sandra Day O'Connor justicejobsmoving It is true that as you have children, there are a good many months when you don't want to be working full-time. I agree that that's an issue. Sandra Day O'Connor issueswantchildren Yes, I will bring the understanding of a woman to the Court, but I doubt that alone will affect my decisions. Sandra Day O'Connor understandingdecisiondoubt I think we may be seeing the beginnings of a resurgence of civic-mindedness in this country. Hopefully the younger generations, which came out in record numbers during the last presidential election, will pass their enthusiasm on to their children. Sandra Day O'Connor countrychildrenthinking So how as a nation can we sit around and eat Mexican food, and drink beer and make friends? That's the question. If we can do that on a broader scale, I think we'll come out of it all right. Sandra Day O'Connor mexicanbeerthinking The whole idea of a public education was to train young people about how our system of government works, so they could be good citizens and be part of it. We're not doing that today. Sandra Day O'Connor governmentpeopleideas Most high courts in other nations do not have discretion, such as we enjoy, in selecting the cases that the high court reviews. Our court is virtually alone in the amount of discretion it has. Sandra Day O'Connor reviewscourtcases Justice Ginsburg is a very competent justice, and it is a joy to have her on the court, but particularly for me it is a pleasure to have a second woman on the court. Sandra Day O'Connor insecurityjusticejoy The purpose prong of the Lemon test requires that a government activity have a secular purpose. That requirement is not satisfied, however, by the mere existence of some secular purpose, however dominated by religious purposes... The proper inquiry under the purpose prong of Lemon, I submit, is whether the government intends to convey a message of endorsement or disapproval of religion. Sandra Day O'Connor atheismgovernmentreligious In order to cultivate a set of leaders with legitimacy in the eyes of the citizenry, it is necessary that the path to leadership be visibly open to talented and qualified individuals of every race and ethnicity. Sandra Day O'Connor eyeraceleadership being a member of the court is a lot like walking through fresh concrete. Do you remember doing that as a child and leaving a footprint and it hardens after you? I'm afraid that's what we do and we look back and we see those opinions we've written and they've sort of hardened after us. Sandra Day O'Connor leavinglawchildren I'm not on the court anymore, so no use looking for my philosophy. If somebody's waiting for that, they can wait for another justice. Sandra Day O'Connor waitingjusticephilosophy I loved my husband very much, and it was heartbreaking to have him develop Alzheimer's disease, and to stand by and watch him decline in his ability to take care of himself. Sandra Day O'Connor alzheimersheartbreakinghusband I like to think that the court will continue to be held in high regard by the public. I think it should be. Sandra Day O'Connor courtshouldthinking [Court] is an institution that depends on making tough decisions in close cases for reasons that it explains well and that, in the past at least, have proven satisfactory to the public. Sandra Day O'Connor toughdecisionpast I think it's inevitable that some of the court's decisions will be found by a segment of the public to be not the right decision or subject to criticism. Sandra Day O'Connor criticismdecisionthinking You have to answer the question, like it or not. And the questions deserve a valid legal response, even if the response isn't one that will be easily understood. You have an obligation as a member of the court to do what you are bound to do under federal law, even if it isn't an attractive resolution from a public standpoint. Sandra Day O'Connor resolutionlawanswers Historically, it took a long time before the court took any women law clerks. Finally, it did, but the numbers have never matched very effectively the percentages of law graduates out of graduating classes. We have far more than we ever did before and it's continued to grow, but it isn't a nice match yet. Sandra Day O'Connor nicelawclass Each justice hires their own clerks, and applications are made individually to the justices. It isn't a group decision. Sandra Day O'Connor clerksdecisionjustice I didn't want to be out of order answering any questions. Sandra Day O'Connor wantorder
