Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy,
Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee,
On The Retirement Of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor
July 1, 2005

Twenty-four years ago, Sandra Day O’Connor became a pioneer when she was unanimously confirmed as the first female Justice to sit on the United States Supreme Court.  I am sorry to learn today that she has decided it is time to retire.  Until she was joined on the Court by Justice Ginsburg in1993, Justice O’Connor was the only woman serving on the Court, and she wore her historic mantle with honor and grace.

While I was pleased to be able to vote for her confirmation to the Court in 1981, I have been even more privileged to watch her become a vital — often a critical -- independent voice.  Justice O’Connor began her career at a time when the legal profession was not friendly to women, and she withstood the sting of early barriers to shatter the glass ceiling.  This alone would be worthy of the many accolades she is sure to receive as we look back on her tenure.  But it is how she has accorded herself on the Court — how she has exemplified the best of what it means to be a Justice — that will serve as her hallmark.

Justice O’Connor’s distinguished tenure on the Nation’s highest court resists easy labels.  Rather than apply the litmus tests of any particular group or a particular political philosophy, she has approached each case with an interest in an open mind.  For that, she is a role model not only to the many women who will follow her on the Supreme Court, but also to jurists at every level of the judiciary.  For 24 years she has served a unique role as a pragmatic centrist, often the bridge and the critical deciding vote.  Justice O’Connor is a sterling example of what can happen when a President nominates a Justice not from the right or the left wing of one of the political parties, but an independent judge capable of making up her own mind.  While a life-long Republican appointed by President Reagan, Justice O’Connor has been an independent thinker.  From the bench, she has not sought to impose her own views, but rather has acted as I believe all judges should act by consistently applying the law to the particular facts of each case, even when confronted with some of the most difficult and controversial debates to ever occur in this country on issues as important as the fundamental rights of Americans. 

I imagine this transition is a difficult one for Justice O’Connor, and I wish her, her husband John, and the rest of her family all best wishes in the days ahead.  This is a public occasion but it is also a very personal chapter for the O’Connor family.  

The stakes are high for all Americans.  Consideration of Supreme Court nominations is one of the most important responsibilities of the Senate.   I renew my call to the President to consult with Members of the Senate from both sides of the aisle as he makes his decision about a nominee.  There is a rich history and tradition of consultation between the President and the Senate on Supreme Court nominees.  I hope that the President will honor not only Justice O’Connor’s record of service, but also her judicial independence, by respecting that tradition of meaningful consultation and in finding a nominee who will unite and not further divide the Nation. 

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