Sandra Day O'Connor Going Strong at 81

Chief Justice Warren Burger Swearing In Sandra Day O'Connor, 1981

For a long time, I thought that Supreme Court justices were similar to popes. Their confidence in the strength of their own arguments paralleled a belief in their own legal infallibility. They all seemed ancient, as pontiffs do. Popes don't retire; the Supremes typically don't, either.

The refreshing exception was Sandra Day O'Connor. She retired to take care of her ailing husband. Her legal perspective came from a rancher's life, unique for top-tier judges and elite attorneys. (By contrast, four Supreme Court justices spent their formative years in New York City.) She was also the first female Supreme Court justice, placed into nomination by conservative Ronald Reagan.

The Washington Post ran a feature on O'Connor, with the lead noting her recent visit to the National Cowgirl Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. It's a good story to read, and includes her controversial advocacy for electing judges versus appointing them.