![]() ![]() I was blessed to be one of her clerks and, therefore, a part of her extended family. Her clerks’ children even have a nickname: “SO’C Grandclerk,” which is emblazoned on T-shirts. She often asked about our families and made clerk reunions family events. She and her husband, John, had an active social calendar in Washington, and she was often on the phone with one of her sons when I would come into her office that year. She brought her own homemade Southwestern dishes for lunch on Saturdays before argument weeks when we would meet to discuss the cases. daily exercise class she organized in the building. We carved pumpkins for Halloween, visited the cherry blossoms in the spring, went to museums, and at least one clerk had to be the “exercise clerk,” who joined her for the 9 a.m. She imposed an ethos of the “full life” in her chambers. The business of the Court was only part of what SO’C expected of us. Justice O'Connor with Marci Hamilton’s two children, daughter Alex (left) and son Will. I went home to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, for two days that year: Christmas and Easter.ĭespite the pressures, we were held to the highest levels of professionalism. She could not be bullied into changing her mind, though Lord knows that Justice Antonin Scalia tried I watched her rise above pettiness in her personal dealings with others as well as in her opinions for the Court. She spent her early childhood living on her parents ranch in Arizona. During the 1989 term, there were 129 full opinions of the Court, which more than doubles the number from the most recent term, and clerks routinely worked seven days each week. Sandra Day O’Connor was born on March 26, 1930, in el Paso, Texas. ![]() We even drafted her speeches, and she was the most-requested justice in that era. We were expected to produce high-quality research, certiorari pool memos, bench memos, and opinion drafts on time. (1981-2006) Sandra Day OConnor spent her early childhood on her familys large Lazy-B-Cattle Ranch in southeastern Arizona, where the closest neighbors were 25 miles away. The work ethic in SO’C’s chambers was intense. Her strength of character made her precisely the right person to be the “first.” In a majority opinion joined by four other justices, Justice Sandra Day OConnor held that the Constitution 'does not prohibit the law schools narrowly tailored use of race in admissions decisions to further a compelling interest in obtaining the educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, or “SO’C,” as her clerks call her, was the first woman to join the United States Supreme Court and held that position with dignity. With an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, she enrolled in Stanford University and graduated. Marci Hamilton, (right) Fels Institute of Government Professor of Practice and CEO of CHILD USA, clerked for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor from 1989 to 1990. By 1946, she graduated ranking sixth from Austin High School. ![]()
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