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If I stumbled badly in doing the job, I think it would have made life more difficult for women, and that was a great concern of mine and still is.

Sandra Day O'Connor

I think people know very little, really, about the court, how it works and its history. And both of those things are important in our country, but they’re not things that most citizens know much about.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Country People Thinking
We expect that 25 years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary to further the interest approved today.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Approved Today Use Years
The freedom to criticize judges and other public officials is necessary to a vibrant democracy. The problem comes when healthy criticism is replaced with more destructive intimidation and sanctions.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Democracy Healthy Judging
My hope is that 10 years from now, after I’ve been across the street at work for a while, they’ll all be glad they gave me that wonderful vote.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Hope Politics Wonderful Years
I have always thought that while it’s wonderful to be the first to do something, you don’t want to be the last.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

First Last Something Wonderful
And I went off to Stanford, I was pretty young and pretty naive. And I had a professor I really loved, who was himself a lawyer.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Lawyers Professors Young
In order to cultivate a set of leaders with legitimacy in the eyes of the citizenry, it is necessary that the path to leadership be visibly open to talented and qualified individuals of every race and ethnicity.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Eye Leadership Race
It is true that as you have children, there are a good many months when you don’t want to be working full-time. I agree that that’s an issue.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Children Issues Want
Liberty finds no refuge in a jurisprudence of doubt.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Doubt Jurisprudence Liberty
If a State refused to let religious groups use facilities open to others, then it would demonstrate not neutrality but hostility toward religion.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Christian Groups Religious
If statistics are any indication, the system may well be allowing some innocent defendants to be executed.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Death May Penalty Statistics
I’m a judge. It seemed to me that it was critical to try to take action to stem the criticism and help people understand that in the constitutional framework, it’s terribly important not to have a system of retaliation against decisions people don’t like.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Decision Judging People
I had become increasingly concerned in recent years about the lack of civics education in our nation’s schools. In recent years, the schools have stopped teaching it. And it’s unfortunate.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

School Teaching Years
I think I learned to appreciate and treasure each day, because you don’t know how many you’re going to be given.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Appreciate Gratitude Thinking
It was better for me when I was joined at the court by a second woman. When I was there alone, there was too much media focus on the one woman, and the minute we got another woman, that changed.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Focus Media Too Much
Each justice hires their own clerks, and applications are made individually to the justices. It isn’t a group decision.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Clerks Decision Justice

If I stumbled badly in doing the job, I think it would have made life more difficult for women, and that was a great concern of mine and still is.

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If I stumbled badly in doing the job, I think it would have made life more difficult for women, and that was a great concern of mine and still is.

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Popular Authors

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