[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 191 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 191
Honoring Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Sandra Day O'Connor.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 1, 2005
Mr. Frist (for himself, Mr. Reid, Mr. McCain, Mr. Kyl, Mr. Akaka, Mr.
Alexander, Mr. Allard, Mr. Allen, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Bennett,
Mr. Biden, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Bond, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Brownback, Mr.
Bunning, Mr. Burns, Mr. Burr, Mr. Byrd, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Carper, Mr.
Chafee, Mr. Chambliss, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Coburn, Mr. Cochran, Mr.
Coleman, Ms. Collins, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Corzine, Mr. Craig,
Mr. Crapo, Mr. Dayton, Mr. DeMint, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Dodd, Mrs. Dole, Mr.
Domenici, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Ensign, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Feingold,
Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Graham, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Gregg, Mr. Hagel, Mr.
Harkin, Mr. Hatch, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Isakson,
Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Kohl, Ms.
Landrieu, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Levin, Mr. Lieberman, Mrs.
Lincoln, Mr. Lott, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Martinez, Mr. McConnell, Ms.
Mikulski, Ms. Murkowski, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Nelson
of Nebraska, Mr. Obama, Mr. Pryor, Mr. Reed, Mr. Roberts, Mr.
Rockefeller, Mr. Salazar, Mr. Santorum, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Schumer, Mr.
Sessions, Mr. Shelby, Mr. Smith, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Specter, Ms. Stabenow,
Mr. Stevens, Mr. Sununu, Mr. Talent, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Thune, Mr. Vitter,
Mr. Voinovich, Mr. Warner, and Mr. Wyden) submitted the following
resolution; which was considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Honoring Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Sandra Day O'Connor.
Whereas, for nearly a quarter century, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor honorably
served as a fair and impartial Justice on the Supreme Court of the
United States;
Whereas Sandra Day O'Connor, the daughter of Harry and Ada Mae, was born in El
Paso, Texas, and was raised by her family on a cattle ranch in
southeastern Arizona;
Whereas Sandra Day O'Connor began an academic journey at Stanford University,
earning a bachelor's degree in economics and graduating magna cum laude;
Whereas Sandra Day O'Connor continued her education at Stanford University, by
enrolling in the Stanford Law School, where she served on the Board of
Editors of the law review;
Whereas, graduating in just 2 years from Stanford Law School, Sandra Day
O'Connor managed to finish third in an impressive class, which included
her future Supreme Court of the United States colleague Chief Justice
William H. Rehnquist;
Whereas Sandra Day O'Connor married her great love, John Jay O'Connor III, in
1952;
Whereas Sandra Day O'Connor began a legal career as the Deputy County Attorney
of San Mateo, California;
Whereas, when John Jay O'Connor III was drafted into the JAG Corps in 1953, the
young couple moved to Frankfurt, Germany, where Sandra Day O'Connor
worked as a civilian attorney for Quartermaster Market Center;
Whereas, after 4 years in Europe, Sandra Day O'Connor returned to Maryvale,
Arizona, where she began a legal practice and raised 3 sons, Scott,
Brian, and Jay;
Whereas in 1965, Sandra Day O'Connor began service in State government as the
Assistant Attorney General for Arizona;
Whereas Sandra Day O'Connor was later appointed to the Arizona State Senate and
then re-elected twice more by the people of Arizona;
Whereas Sandra Day O'Connor served as majority leader of the Arizona State
Senate, and was the first woman to hold such an office in any State;
Whereas in 1975, Sandra Day O'Connor was elected Judge of Maricopa County
Superior Court and served in such capacity until 1979;
Whereas President Ronald Reagan appointed Sandra Day O'Connor to serve as
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States;
Whereas, on September 21, 1981, the Senate unanimously confirmed the nomination
of Sandra Day O'Connor to the Supreme Court of the United States, and
she became the first female Justice in the Court's history;
Whereas, since September 25th, 1981, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has served with
distinction on the Supreme Court of the United States;
Whereas Sandra Day O'Connor has served as an example to all the people of the
United States, demonstrating that through persistence and hard work
anything is possible;
Whereas, throughout her tenure on the Supreme Court of the United States, Sandra
Day O'Connor has not lost sight of her values and has not wavered from
her well-grounded views;
Whereas President Ronald Reagan, on the date he appointed Sandra Day O'Connor to
the Supreme Court of the United States, said, ``[s]he is truly a `person
for all seasons', possessing those unique qualities of temperament,
fairness, intellectual capacity and devotion to the public good which
have characterized the 101 `brethren' who have preceded her'';
Whereas now, more than 23 years later, the comments President Reagan made about
Sandra Day O'Connor still ring true;
Whereas when Sandra Day O'Connor took the oath of office as Associate Justice,
she pledged to uphold the Constitution, and has since then proven a
steadfast commitment to the rule of law;
Whereas the wisdom, intellect, respect for others, and humility of Sandra Day
O'Connor have allowed her to become well-respected among her colleagues,
including those with opposing judicial philosophies;
Whereas Sandra Day O'Connor is an independent thinker and has made great
contributions in many substantive areas of the law;
Whereas Sandra Day O'Connor embodies the ideal qualities of a judge, including
fairness, impartiality, and open-mindedness;
Whereas, a true public servant, Sandra Day O'Connor has proudly served the
United States for 4 decades as an Arizona State Senator and majority
leader, State court judge, an Assistant Attorney General for Arizona,
and for more than 23 years as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court
of the United States;
Whereas through her experiences, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has brought a
unique perspective and understanding of checks and balances to the
Supreme Court of the United States; and
Whereas, Sandra Day O'Connor, a brilliant jurist and a compassionate woman, has
earned a place in history as the first woman to serve on the Supreme
Court of the United States: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) recognizes Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of
the United States Sandra Day O'Connor as a great American, a
life-long public servant, a brilliant legal scholar, a superb
jurist, and the first woman ever to serve as an Associate
Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States; and
(2) pays tribute to Sandra Day O'Connor, Associate Justice
of the Supreme Court of the United States, for 4 decades of
distinguished service to the nation.
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