The Court

The Court

Planned Parenthood vs. Casey

Sandra Day O’Connor has done many important things. Her biggest case came 11 years into her time on the Supreme Court. Planned Parenthood vs. Casey was a case about abortion rights in the United States. Women were not allowed to choose if they wanted an abortion. Sandra Day O’Connor, Anthony Kennedy, and David Souter wrote a plurity opinion together and the Supreme Court upheld the Thirteenth Amendment, which protects a woman's right to choose to have an abortion prior to viability

The Supreme Court, 

Sandra Day O'Connor and George W. Bush, 1981

More Cases

In Bush vs. Gore, O’Connor acted as the swing vote in a 5-4 decision proclaiming George W. Bush as our 43rd President. In another case, O’Connor drafted the majority opinion in Mississippi University for Women vs. Hogan where a man sued an all female nursing school for not allowing admission. The court ruled that the school must admit qualified men, and O’Connor reasoned that not allowing men into the school made the stereotype that nursing was a woman’s job. ​​​​​​​

Grutter vs. Bollinger

    O'Connor had a solid reputation of being firm, but just. She tended to vote in line with the republican platform, but she voted for what she believed best fit the intentions of the U.S Constitution.

In Grutter vs. Bollinger, Barbara Grutter applied for admission to the University of Michigan Law School. Grutter applied with a 3.8 undergraduate GPA and an LSAT score of 161 but she was denied admission. The Law School admited that its admission process favored certain minority grounps in making admissions decisions because they wanted a diverse student body.

Sandra Day O'Connor and William French, July 14, 1981,

The Journal Times

“It is the individual who can and does make a difference even in this increasingly populous, complex world of ours. The individual can make things happen. It is the individual who can bring a tear to my eye and then cause me to take pen in hand. It is the individual who has acted or tried to act who will not only force a decision but also have a hand in shaping it. Whether acting in the legal, governmental, or private realm, one concerned and dedicated person can meaningful affect what some consider an uncaring world. So give freely of yourself always to your family, your friends, your community, and your country. The world will pay you back many times over.”
 -Sandra Day O'Connor