And she now stays close to her home in Phoenix, he said. Hip issues have meant she now primarily uses a wheelchair. That made some public events more difficult. ![]() Her son Jay O'Connor said in a recent telephone interview with The Associated Press that his mother, like many who reach their upper 80s, began to have challenges with her short-term memory. This summer she turned over an office she had kept at the Supreme Court to the court's most recently retired justice, Anthony Kennedy. She made her last public appearances over two years ago. O'Connor's announcement came a day after a story by The Associated Press that she had stepped back from public life.įor more than a decade after leaving the court in 2006, O'Connor kept up an active schedule: serving as a visiting federal appeals court judge, speaking on issues she cared about and founding her own education organization.īut the 88-year-old, for more than two decades often the deciding vote in important cases, is now fully retired. SCROLL DOWN TO READ SANDRA DAY O'CONNORS FULL LETTER ![]() She was elected as a state trial judge in 1974 and in 1979 was named to a state appeals court. She and her husband, John, whom she met in law school, later settled in Phoenix where she became a prominent Republican politician in the state. Although she graduated third in her class, she was rejected for most law firm jobs. She was one of only five women in her class at Stanford Law School. O'Connor grew up on a ranch in Arizona before attending Stanford University in California. 'She broke down barriers for women in the legal profession to the betterment of that profession and the country as a whole.' 'Justice O'Connor is of course a towering figure in the history of the United States and indeed the world,' he said. Roberts said in a statement Tuesday that although O'Connor has announced she is withdrawing from public life, 'no illness or condition can take away the inspiration she provides for those who will follow the many paths she has blazed.' Supreme Court.'Ĭhief Justice John Roberts said he was 'saddened to learn' about the diagnosis. 'As a young cowgirl from the Arizona desert, I never could have imagined that one day I would become the first woman justice on the U.S. 'How fortunate I feel to be an American and to have been presented with the remarkable opportunities available to the citizens of our country. In a letter addressed to 'friends and fellow Americans', she wrote: 'While the final chapter of my life with dementia may be trying, nothing has diminished my gratitude and deep appreciation for the countless blessings in my life. She announced her retirement in 2005 and stepped down early the following year when Justice Samuel Alito was confirmed. O'Connor, 88, was nominated by President Ronald Reagan and took her seat on the court in 1981. She said that her diagnosis was made 'some time ago' and that as her condition has progressed she is 'no longer able to participate in public life.' O'Connor, 88, made the announcement in a letter. Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court, said Tuesday she has the beginning stages of dementia and 'probably Alzheimer's disease.' Withdrawal: Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court, has left public life at 88, her son has revealed
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