[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 76 (Monday, May 18, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5551-S5552]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      JUSTICE SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I just left a ceremony in the Hart Office 
Building, not far from where we are meeting, which is an annual event 
where the University of Illinois presents the Senator Paul H. Douglas 
Ethics in Government Award. The 2008 recipient is former Supreme Court 
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. She is the first woman to be so honored.
  There has been a long list of public servants who have distinguished 
themselves with their integrity and their show of ethics in government 
who have been acknowledged for this award, and Justice Sandra Day 
O'Connor certainly follows in that tradition.
  It was my good fortune as a young college student to work as an 
intern in the office of Senator Paul Douglas. It truly shaped my life 
and convinced me that public service was a good calling, and I was 
lucky, as I have said many times, to be inspired by the gospels of St. 
Paul--that would be former Senator Paul Douglas and former Senator Paul 
Simon--who showed me what I thought was the very best in public service 
in their honesty--not only dollar honesty but honesty on the issues. It 
is a great honor for me to continue and serve in the same Senate seat 
that both of these men occupied.
  But today the University of Illinois honored Sandra Day O'Connor, and 
she is well deserving--the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme 
Court. By the time her career was coming to a close, she became one of 
the most decisive forces on that High Court. During her last decade on 
the Court, 193 decisions were made by the Court by a vote of 5 to 4. 
One Justice's vote made the difference, and in 148 of those 193 cases, 
that one vote was cast by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
  There were so many issues--issues regarding privacy, the rights of 
people with disabilities, affirming the voting rights of Americans, 
preserving the rights of universities to use affirmative action, 
protecting the rights established under McCain-Feingold to have cleaner 
elections in America, upholding State laws giving individuals their 
rights under health insurance contracts, preserving the authority of 
the Federal Government to protect the environment, banning the 
execution of children, reaffirming America's time-honored tradition of 
separation of church and state.
  One New York Times reporter wrote in 2001 that Justice O'Connor's 
vote tipped the scale so often that ``we are all living now in Sandra 
Day O'Connor's America.''
  As I said a few moments ago in introducing her at this gathering, one 
of her most significant and oft-quoted opinions was a recent one--her 
landmark decision in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, in which she famously wrote:

       A state of war is not a blank check for the President when 
     it comes to the rights of a Nation's citizens.

  Mr. President, I wanted to come to the floor briefly today to add my 
voice to so many Americans in gratitude to Sandra Day O'Connor for her 
great service to Arizona and to the United States of America and to the 
Supreme Court. I am glad her voice is still strong and part of the 
public chorus, calling on us to be better as a people and better in 
government.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record 
the speech I gave during the awards ceremony.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

     Remarks by Assistant Senate Majority Leader Richard J. Durbin 
   Congratulating Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on Receiving the 2008 
           Senator Paul H. Douglas Ethics in Government Award

       I would like to acknowledge University of Illinois 
     President Joseph White, Chairman Shah and members of the 
     University of Illinois Board of Trustees; Robert Rich and the 
     staff of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs; and 
     members of the Douglas family.
       I also want to acknowledge the members of the Douglas 
     Senate family--those of us who had the good fortune to have 
     worked for Paul Douglas in the Senate and whose hearts and 
     minds and lives were enlarged by his example.
       Sadly, there is one important member of the Douglas Senate 
     family who is missing this year. Paul Douglas lost the use of 
     his left arm when it was smashed to pieces in Okinawa in 
     World War II. But he gained another strong right arm when he 
     and Howard Shuman joined forces in the United States Senate. 
     On the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act and so many 
     important battles, Howard Shuman truly was Paul Douglas' 
     ``right hand man.'' We are all free-er because of their 
     partnership. It's good to see Howard's daughter Ellen and 
     other members of the Shuman family here today.
       We are here today to celebrate a woman whose courage, 
     character and wisdom helped preserve many of the same 
     principles that Paul Douglas spent his life fighting to 
     protect and enlarge. It is an honor to join you in 
     recognizing Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
       Before I say a few words about Justice O'Connor, I want to 
     acknowledge another person whose wisdom and integrity has 
     served our nation so well--Supreme Court Justice David 
     Souter.
       Thank you, Justice Souter, for your many years of service 
     to our nation and our Constitution. Your voice on the Court 
     has made a difference.
       Someone asked me once where I found my political 
     inspiration.
       I said, ``Most of it comes from the gospel of St. Paul.'' 
     Paul Douglas. And another brilliant and compassionate 
     statesmen, Paul Simon. Much of what I know that is good and 
     important about politics, I learned from them.
       Paul Simon once said that the test for a Supreme Court 
     nominee is not where he or she stands on a given issue. The 
     real test is: Will this Justice use his or her power on the 
     Court to restrict freedom, or expand it?
       Justice O'Connor and Justice Souter, you have both scored 
     high grades on the Paul Simon test. Our nation is better for 
     your service. And we are grateful to you.
       If the man or woman President Obama nominates to serve as 
     America's next Supreme Court Justice is as independent, open-
     minded and fair as the two of you--and I feel confident they 
     will be--our country and our Constitution will be in good 
     hands.
       And now, regarding our guest of honor. What can you give a 
     woman who has already been inducted into the National Cowgirl 
     Hall of Fame?
       It took 190 years and 101 male Justices before Sandra Day 
     O'Connor broke the gender barrier on the United States 
     Supreme Court. It took only 14 years and 16 male recipients 
     for Justice O'Connor to become the first women recipient of 
     the Paul Douglas Ethics in Government Award. That is 
     progress.
       Paul Douglas is most closely associated with the civil 
     rights movement. But he was a true egalitarian. He believed 
     in equality of opportunity for all people. And he greatly 
     admired strong, intelligent women.
       He kept a series of photographs in his office. One was a 
     photo of one of his political heroes, Jane Addams, the great 
     social reformer from Chicago whom he first met in 1921.
       My first introduction to Jane Addams was that 1966 
     campaign. We started off by making a visit to Freeport to lay 
     flowers on the grave of Jane Addams.
       I think it would make Senator Douglas quite proud to see an 
     award bearing his name presented to a woman who has done so 
     much to advance the causes of equal justice and equal 
     opportunity, which were so dear to him.
       There are some strong similarities between Senator Douglas 
     and Justice O'Connor.
       He grew up in the Maine woods. She grew up on a ranch in 
     the high desert on the Arizona-New Mexico border. It was in 
     those isolated environments of their childhoods that they 
     both developed a lifelong love of reading and learning.
       (Of course, life on the Lazy B Ranch wasn't all books and 
     reading. By the time she was 8 years old, Justice O'Connor 
     could drive a truck ... mend a fence ... brand cattle ... and 
     shoot her own .22 caliber rifle. She had cowboys for friends 
     and a bobcat for a playmate--good preparation for all those 
     Supreme Court conferences.)
       Another, more important similarity between Senator Douglas 
     and Justice O'Connor is their shared distrust of ideology.
       Here is a fact about Paul Douglas that many people do now 
     know. His first foray into elected politics was running for 
     mayor of Chicago as a Republican. He was elected to the Board 
     of Alderman as an Independent. It wasn't until he first ran 
     for the Senate

[[Page S5552]]

     that he aligned himself with the Democratic Party.
       Justice O'Connor's ability to see beyond partisan divides 
     was reflected early when every member of the Senate Judiciary 
     Committee--from Strom Thurmond to Ted Kennedy--voted to 
     support her nomination. And it grew over her 24 years on the 
     Court.
       Their mutual commitment to principle rather than political 
     ideologies enabled both Paul Douglas and Sandra Day O'Connor 
     to build coalitions to advance our nation's common good. And 
     for that, we are very grateful.
       Here is another similarity: As a member of the Arizona 
     state Senate, Sandra Day O'Connor once introduced an 
     amendment to remove a misplaced comma from a bill.
       As a college intern, I sat next to Senator Douglas many 
     nights as he read, and edited, and signed every single letter 
     that went out under his name. Because he couldn't use his 
     left arm, it was my job to pull the letters off the top of 
     the pile as he finished them. Believe me, no misplaced comma 
     ever escaped his editing pen, either.
       But the most important similarity--the reason we are all 
     here today--is because, like Paul Douglas, Justice O'Connor 
     used the power she was given to defend and expand our 
     freedom. With her voice and her vote, she said--time and time 
     again--that government has an obligation to defend the 
     powerless from the powerful.
       Justice O'Connor was always open to those who could make a 
     strong case. She listened to the arguments and weighed the 
     evidence.
       During her last decade on the Court, 193 decisions were 
     decided by a vote of 5-to-4. One Justice's vote made the 
     difference. And in 148 of those 193 cases, that one vote was 
     cast by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
       She cast the fifth and deciding vote safeguarding 
     Americans' right to privacy; requiring that courtrooms be 
     accessible to people with disabilities; affirming the 
     obligation of states to protect the voting rights of 
     minorities; and preserving the rights of universities to use 
     affirmative action programs.
       Justice O'Connor cast the deciding vote preserving the 
     right of the federal government under the McCain-Feingold law 
     to place reasonable restrictions on campaign contributions so 
     that special interest money can't gain overwhelm our 
     democracy--a vote, I think, that Senator Douglas would have 
     applauded.
       She cast the deciding vote upholding state laws giving 
     individuals the right to a second doctor's opinion if their 
     HMO denies them treatment; preserving the authority of the 
     federal government to protect the environment; banning the 
     execution of children in America; and reaffirming America's 
     time-honored tradition of separation of church and state.
       Indeed, as a New York Times reporter wrote in 2001, Justice 
     O'Connor's vote tipped the scales so often that--quote, ``we 
     are all living now in Sandra Day O'Connor's America.''
       And that was before what is perhaps her most significant 
     opinion: the landmark decision of Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, in which 
     Justice O'Connor famously wrote: ``A state of war is not a 
     blank check for the President when it comes to the rights of 
     the Nation's citizens.''
       It strikes me as ironic that Sandra Day O'Connor could have 
     grown up in a place called the Lazy B Ranch because lazy is 
     about the last word you could ever use to describe her. Since 
     leaving the Court nearly four years ago, she has written and 
     spoken extensively. She has been especially eloquent and 
     courageous in speaking out in defense of an independent 
     judiciary.
       In 2005, she wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal 
     about those who seek to score political points by railing 
     against and trying to intimidate what they call ``activist 
     federal judges.''
       She warned that ``using judges as punching bags presents a 
     grave threat to the independent judiciary.'' She added: ``We 
     must be more vigilant in making sure that criticism does not 
     cross over into intimidation ... that the current mood of 
     cynicism does not end up compromising the rule of law.
       For all she has done to advance the cause of equal justice 
     and equal opportunity in America, and for her continued 
     defense of our courts and our Constitution, Justice Sandra 
     Day O'Connor is a true American she-ro and a worthy recipient 
     of the Paul Douglas Ethics in Government Award. Thank you 
     again, Justice O'Connor, for your selfless service to our 
     nation.

  Mr. DURBIN. I thank the Presiding Officer for this time.

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