Sandra Day O'Connor, Supreme Court

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor: A Judicious Trailblazer

Justice O'Connor's thoughtful judiciousness brought us a few steps closer to a future where gender equality will truly be a reality.

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(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

While on vacation earlier this summer, I read the book Sisters In Law: How Sandra Day O’Connor And Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World (affiliate link). I was so intrigued and inspired by this fascinating biography, penned by Linda Hirshman, that chronicled the trailblazing paths of these two amazing women jurists, that I’ve decided to take an occasional break from legal tech issues every few months to write about each of the women Supreme Court justices.

It’s only fitting that the first woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, should be focus of my first post in this series.

I think my favorite quote of hers, which is often referenced by Justice Ginsburg, adeptly sums up Justice O’Connor’s rather practical, even-handed approach to a topic that is near and dear to my heart — gender equity:

“As women achieve power, the barriers will fall. As society sees what women can do, as women see what women can do, there will be more women out there doing things, and we’ll all be better off for it.”[1]

When I was in law school in the mid-1990s, I’m not sure I would have appreciated this quote as much I do now. While full of hope, it’s ultimately a rather muted statement about gender equality. And that was my gripe with Justice O’Connor back then.

I recall being incredibly frustrated whenever I read opinions written by her. She seemed to equivocate on the issues that were most important to me. Rather than condemning gender discrimination using the harshest of terms or declaring that of course women’s destinies were their own to determine, it seemed to me that she went out of her way to avoid drawing lines in the sand and instead took the middle road.

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I was a young law student with idealized views about the world and our profession. Everything seemed so clear cut to me: women accounted for nearly 50% of law students and, therefore, gender equality in the world and in our profession was a given. The time for equivocation on those issues was long past.

So when Justice O’Connor failed to make grand statements denouncing gender discrimination, and handed down limited holdings in cases where her opinions had the potential to have broader, long-reaching effects, I was disappointed. She wasn’t the warrior for women’s rights that I wanted her to be.

Fast forward 22 years, and I’m a very different person than I was in law school. My frame of reference has changed. I’ve learned that things aren’t always black and white. No matter what the issue, there are always shades of gray.

Another hard-earned lesson I’ve learned is that taking the middle road — one that is well-paved due to so much use — is often the best path to the high road. People are more easily convinced to move toward the middle than to the far left or far right of an issue.

Because of those life lessons, my perspective has changed since law school. That’s why I’m so grateful that I received a copy of “Sisters In Law” as a gift for my 47th birthday. It helped me to gain a greater understanding of, and appreciation for, Justice O’Connor. In retrospect, I realize that she did make notable pronouncements about gender equity and other important issues, but she tempered them with wisdom and calculated diplomacy. Her artful subtlety was her genius.

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It was by walking that middle line that she was able to ascend to the highest court in this nation. And once there, she continued to walk that path, finding that middle ground on contentious, pivotal cases and convincing her more conservative colleagues to see her point of view. She meticulously laid the groundwork for future cases, often serving as the crucial swing vote in groundbreaking cases later in her career.  Her careful, thoughtful judiciousness brought us a few steps closer to a future where gender equality will truly be a reality. We’re not there yet, but we’re that much closer because of Justice O’Connor’s time on the Court.

One thing is very clear to me now: Justice O’Connor led by example. When she was appointed to the Supreme Court — and as each woman justice was appointed in her wake — barriers fell. She made a difference. People have seen what a woman on the Supreme Court can do. And the world is undoubtedly better off for it.

[1] Justice Sandra Day O’Connor spoke these words in 1990 at the Sixteenth Annual Olin Conference: Women in Power.

Niki BlackNicole Black is a Rochester, New York attorney and the Legal Technology Evangelist at MyCase, web-based law practice management software. She’s been blogging since 2005, has written a weekly column for the Daily Record since 2007, is the author of Cloud Computing for Lawyers, co-authors Social Media for Lawyers: the Next Frontier, and co-authors Criminal Law in New York. She’s easily distracted by the potential of bright and shiny tech gadgets, along with good food and wine. You can follow her on Twitter @nikiblack and she can be reached at [email protected].

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