Dec. 18 (UPI) — Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was honored by justices, family and mourners Monday as she lay in repose in the Great Hall at the U.S. Supreme Court, one day before her funeral service.
O’Connor’s casket arrived at the court at 9:30 a.m. EST, as Supreme Court police officers carried it into the building and members of the public gathered to pay their respects to the first woman who served on the nation’s highest court.
A private ceremony was held to start the day as Justice Sonia Sotomayer called the late justice, who died at the age of 93 on Dec. 1, a “life role model.”
“I knew that Sandra would open up the door for women in the law and serve as an inspiration to girls across the country,” Sotomayer said Monday.
“Later on, she would often say that it was good to be the first but don’t want to be the last. Sandra was a living example that women could take on any challenge, could more than hold their own in spaces dominated by men, and could do so with grace.”
“She saw our nation’s civil discourse breaking down and believed strongly that we would lose our democracy if we did not teach civics to younger generations,” Sotomayor added. “Sandra famously said, the practice of democracy is not passed down in the gene pool. It must be taught and learned by each generation.”
All nine current justices, including Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Neil Gorsuch, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, and retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, attended the private ceremony along with O’Connor’s family before the public was invited in to pay their respects.
Among those who were the first to pay tribute at O’Connor’s casket were Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff.
O’Connor’s funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. EST Tuesday at the Washington National Cathedral, a private service for invited guests with tickets.
President Joe Biden, Chief Justice John Roberts and O’Connor’s son, Jay, are among those giving eulogies at the service. The ceremonies will be televised from the cathedral where O’Connor was known to regularly worship.
“Justice O’Connor’s indomitable spirit and unwavering commitment to justice made her a pioneer and an inspiration to generations, breaking barriers and leaving an enduring mark on the nation’s highest court,” said the Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, who serves as dean of the cathedral.
“The cathedral has been blessed by her many years of service and worship,” he added, referring to the eight years that O’Connor served on the cathedral’s governing board.
O’Connor was appointed to the Supreme Court in July 1981 by President Ronald Reagan and served until 2006, ruling in some of the nation’s most historic legal decisions over 25 years, including abortion rights, criminal procedures and affirmative action.
O’Connor was a crucial swing vote in the court’s historic 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood vs. Casey, which upheld the right to an abortion as established in Roe vs. Wade.
She was also instrumental in the Bush vs. Gore case that ended challenges to the contested results of the 2000 presidential election.
During her confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, O’Connor was praised for asserting that “the proper role of the judiciary is one of interpreting and applying the law, not making it.”
As she was sworn in on Sept. 25, 1981, O’Connor pledged, “I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich.”
Before rising to the Supreme Court, O’Connor worked as a public attorney and served in all three branches of government in Arizona, where she was raised.
Born in El Paso, Texas, O’Connor grew up on a cattle ranch with no running water or electricity. She enrolled at Stanford University at age 16 and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in economics.
In 1952, she earned a law degree from Stanford Law School, where she met and eventually married John Jay O’Connor III, with whom she had three sons.
O’Connor established many firsts for women during her legal career as the U.S. justice community at that time was dominated by White men.
Fresh out of law school in 1952, O’Connor was hired as the deputy county attorney in San Mateo County, Calif., marking the first time a woman held the position.
In 1969, O’Connor was appointed to the Arizona State Senate, and in 1973 became the first woman to serve as majority leader in any state.
O’Connor was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2009, while President Joe Biden signed a bill in April 2022 to place a statue of O’Connor on the U.S. Capitol grounds.
The family asked that donations be sent to the “iCivics” student program, which O’Connor established in 2009 to promote civic engagement.
