III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 499 

Acknowledging the lifetime of service of Sandra Day O’Connor to the United 

States as a successful Arizona State Senator, trailblazer, expert collaborator, educational advocate, and one of the great Justices of the Supreme 

Court of the United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 13, 2023 

Ms. SINEMA (for herself, Mr. KELLY, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mrs. CAPITO, Mrs. 

FISCHER, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Ms. BUTLER, Ms. BALDWIN, 

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. COLLINS, Ms. ERNST, Mrs. BRITT, Ms. SMITH, 

and Mrs. HYDE-SMITH) submitted the following resolution; which was 

considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Acknowledging the lifetime of service of Sandra Day O’Connor to the United States as a successful Arizona State 

Senator, trailblazer, expert collaborator, educational advocate, and one of the great Justices of the Supreme 

Court of the United States. 

Whereas Sandra Day O’Connor was born in 1930 in El Paso, 

Texas, and spent her childhood on her family’s isolated 

Arizona cattle ranch; 

Whereas O’Connor lived with her grandmother in El Paso 

during the school year, away from her home and parents; 

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•SRES 499 ATS 

Whereas O’Connor matriculated to Stanford University at the 

age of 16 and combined her undergraduate and law 

school curricula, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 

economics and a law degree in just 6 years; 

Whereas O’Connor graduated third in her law school class, 

behind William Rehnquist, her future colleague on the 

Supreme Court of the United States (referred to in this 

preamble as the ‘‘Supreme Court’’); 

Whereas, despite her qualifications, O’Connor could not find 

work as an attorney because of bias against women in the 

law; 

Whereas O’Connor ended up negotiating for an unpaid position in the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office 

at a shared desk, while her husband, John, finished at 

Stanford Law School 1 year later; 

Whereas O’Connor traveled to Frankfurt, Germany, in 1954 

with her husband John, who had joined the United 

States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, and she 

was able to find work as a civilian attorney with the 

United States Army Quartermaster Corps; 

Whereas, in 1957, O’Connor returned to Arizona and still 

could not find work with a traditional law firm due to her 

gender, so she ‘‘hung out a shingle’’ as a sole practitioner; 

Whereas, in 1965, O’Connor was hired as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Arizona; 

Whereas O’Connor was active in Republican Party politics 

and was well-received for her work at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, which resulted in her appointment 

to an Arizona State Senate seat in 1969 when the incumVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:14 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR499.ATS SR499
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•SRES 499 ATS 

bent, also a woman, was appointed to a Federal position 

and vacated the office; 

Whereas, in 1970, O’Connor was elected to the Arizona State 

Senate and served 2 consecutive terms; 

Whereas, in 1972, O’Connor was selected as Majority Leader 

of the Arizona State Senate, the first time a woman held 

such a position in any State; 

Whereas, in 1974, O’Connor was elected as a trial court 

judge and was later appointed to the Arizona Court of 

Appeals in 1979; 

Whereas, on August 19, 1981, President Ronald Reagan 

nominated O’Connor to be an Associate Justice of the 

Supreme Court to fill the seat vacated by Associate Justice Potter Stewart; 

Whereas, on September 21, 1981, the Senate confirmed 

O’Connor’s nomination by a unanimous vote, making her 

the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court; 

Whereas O’Connor established herself as a pragmatic, independent voice on the Supreme Court, casting decisive 

votes during a time when the Supreme Court was being 

asked to resolve politically charged issues; 

Whereas O’Connor put a very public face on the role of the 

Supreme Court, domestically and around the world; 

Whereas O’Connor became the Supreme Court’s most prolific 

public speaker, traveling to all 50 States and to countless 

law schools, libraries, and public events to describe how 

the Supreme Court works and its role in our constitutional form of government; 

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•SRES 499 ATS 

Whereas O’Connor traveled worldwide as an ambassador for 

the rule of law and the independence of judiciaries everywhere; 

Whereas, after 24 years on the Supreme Court, O’Connor announced her retirement to care for her beloved husband, 

who had Alzheimer’s disease; 

Whereas O’Connor began her retirement with 2 goals, which 

were to— 

(1) convince more States to adopt merit selection of 

judges for filling vacancies in State courts; and 

(2) educate the public on the importance of an independent judiciary; 

Whereas O’Connor’s judicial independence work led to her 

awareness of a national civics education deficit; 

Whereas, in 2009, O’Connor created the free-to-use, ad-free 

platform iCivics.org to educate young citizens of the 

United States about civics and what it means to be a citizen; 

Whereas iCivics.org grew to become the largest civics education platform in the United States, with over 7,000,000 

students annually enrolling in the programs the platform 

offers; 

Whereas the popularity of iCivics.org was due to its captivating online, interactive gaming approach; 

Whereas iCivics.org played a crucial role in Educating for 

American Democracy, a Federally funded initiative to improve civics and history education, which released its reports in March 2021; 

Whereas Sandra Day O’Connor was a beloved sister, wife, 

mother, and grandmother; 

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•SRES 499 ATS 

Whereas Sandra Day O’Connor was an icon, trailblazer, and 

dedicated public servant, who leaves behind a legacy that 

has inspired generations of women, including the 5 

women justices who have followed in her footsteps on the 

Supreme Court; and 

Whereas Sandra Day O’Connor will be remembered as a pioneer in the history of the United States and will always 

be revered as the first woman to serve on the Supreme 

Court: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) extends heartfelt sympathies to the family 

3 and friends of Sandra Day O’Connor; 

4 (2) respectfully requests that the Secretary of 

5 the Senate communicate this resolution to the House 

6 of Representatives and transmit an enrolled copy 

7 thereof to the family of Justice Sandra Day O’Con8 nor; and 

9 (3) acknowledges the lifetime of service of San10 dra Day O’Connor, a successful Arizona State Sen11 ator, trailblazer, expert collaborator, educational ad12 vocate, and the first woman to serve on the Supreme 

13 Court. 

Æ