Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor died on Friday, December 1 at age 93. Justice O’Connor was the first woman to serve on the nation’s highest court. The Colorado Women’s Bar Association President Emma Garrison joined KUNC’s Nikole Robinson Carroll to talk about Justice O’Connor’s legacy.
Garrison told KUNC the legal community, especially the women in it, are feeling the loss.
“The old saying goes, ‘You cannot be what you do not see,’” she said. “Having a woman at the highest pinnacle of the legal profession really matters to girls and women who want to pursue careers in law or careers on the bench.”
Garrison said O’Connor graduated at the top of her class at Stanford Law, but was offered only secretarial work at a major law firm.
“She had to get her foot in the door by volunteering at a district attorney's office before finally forging a career for herself,” Garrison said.
Before taking the bench in Washington, O’Connor was an attorney for the Army. She also served as an assistant attorney general and a state senator in Arizona.
Justice O'Connor even left a mark on Colorado through her work. Notably, she voted with the majority in the Romer vs. Evans case. The opinion, announced in May 1996, struck down an amendment to the state constitution that would have blocked any laws to protect the rights of LGBTQ+ people.
Justice O’ Connor also voted to uphold abortion rights and affirmative action. The current Supreme Court has overturned those precedents.
