The late Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, lay in repose today in the court's Great Hall. O’Connor, an Arizona native, died Dec. 1, 2023, at age 93.
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor remembered her as a trailblazer who never lost sight of how the high court's decisions affected ordinary people. Mourners included Vice President Kamala Harris.
O’Connor was nominated in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan and subsequently confirmed by the Senate, ending 191 years of male exclusivity on the high court. She was a rancher's daughter largely unknown on the national scene until her appointment. O'Connor received more letters than any one member in the court’s history in her first year and would come to be referred to as the nation’s most powerful woman.
Funeral services for O'Connor are set for Tuesday at Washington National Cathedral, where President Joe Biden and Chief Justice John Roberts are scheduled to speak.