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Prior To Joining The Supreme Court, A Future Justice Rejected A Marriage Proposal From A Future Chief Justice

They could have been a Supreme couple, but it wasn't meant to be.

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist (Photos via Library of Congress)

To be specific, Sandy, will you marry me this summer?

William H. Rehnquist, then a law student at Stanford Law, in a letter where he proposed to his then classmate, Sandra Day. Day turned town Rehnquist’s proposal and later married a different classmate, John O’Connor. Rehnquist and O’Connor later served on the high court together, and remained friends their entire lives.


Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.