Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female justice of the US Supreme Court, has died

O’Connor died Friday in Phoenix, Arizona, “due to associated complications.” advanced dementia, possibly Alzheimer’sand respiratory disease,” the Supreme Court said.

The judge was appointed to the Court by Republican President Ronald Reagan and served from 1981 until 2006, when she retired to care for her husband, who had Alzheimer’s disease. The president at that time George W. Bush, He nominated Justice Samuel Alito, who remains in office, to his seat.

Her independence before an ideologically divided court (despite a moderate conservative stance) made her vote essential in important cases and established her as one of the most powerful women of her time.

women’s rights

Was it one? symbol of the conquest of women’s rights and the forerunner of the nine-judge Supreme Court, which has seen only six women in total in the entire history of the United States.

Following his retirement from the Supreme Court on January 31, 2006, Judge O’Connor continued to serve actively. defender of judicial independence and the rule of law Worldwide.

During those years, he focused his efforts on iCivics, an organization he created to promote civics and participation, specifically to ensure that all American citizens understand the Constitution.

All this until October 2018 He announced that he had dementia and decided to leave public life.

President for his achievements in his life Barack Obama Judge O’Connor given nation’s highest civilian awardPresidential Medal of Freedom on August 12, 2009.

A Law graduate from Stanford University, some of his most notable decisions include ‘Planned Parenthood v. Casey’, a 1992 opinion that reaffirmed a woman’s right to an abortion.

Or a 2004 court decision challenging the George W. Bush administration’s post-9/11 detainee policy. “A state of war is not a blank check.”