Sandra Day O’Connor, a trailblazing figure in American jurisprudence as the first woman to sit on the US Supreme Court, passed away on Friday at the age of 93. According to a statement from the Supreme Court, she died from complications related to advanced dementia, probable Alzheimer’s disease, and a respiratory illness.
O’Connor was nominated to the Supreme Court bench in 1981 by then-president Ronald Reagan and over her tenure of more than 24 years, she delivered impactful judgments that transformed various facets of American legal landscape. Some of her landmark opinions include her affirmative action ruling in Grutter v. Bollinger, and decisions regarding due process rights in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld.
She also played a significant role in the 2000 Bush v. Gore election case and was one of the three co-authors of the opinion in the influential abortion rights case Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
O’Connor retired from the bench in 2006 but continued to remain an active personality in public life for many years thereafter. She spearheaded a campaign in 2009 alongside the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System to persuade state legislatures to adopt merit-based judicial appointments instead of direct judicial elections. In addition to her work in judicial reform, she founded iCivics, a resource for civics education.