[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.
                                 <all>