Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, died over the weekend, triggering a political crisis in America.
But the first woman to sit on the court, Sandra Day O’Connor, is still alive and is celebrating the 39th anniversary of her confirmation today, September 21.st.
O’Connor was nominated by Ronald Reagan in 1981 and served for 25 years before resigning in 2006. Her successor, John Roberts, is the current Chief Justice.
O’Connor was the only woman on the Supreme Court for 12 years before Ginsburg succeeded her as justice in 1993.
As a moderate conservative jurist, she usually sided with the so-called conservative wing of the court, but joined liberal jurists in particular to overturn Roe versus Wade in the case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
She has also cast a deciding vote in a number of other important cases, including siding with the liberals in upholding the McCain/Feingold campaign finance law in 2003 and with the conservatives in declaring so-called “reverse discrimination” unconstitutional that same year.
She also cast the deciding vote in Bush v. Gore, which ended the 2000 election recount and made Bush president, ultimately nominating her successor.
She now lives in Arizona and is 90 years old.
