Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts paid tribute to Sandra Day O’Connor’s career that broke barriers.
“She was so successful that the barriers she broke down are almost unthinkable today,” he said.
Remarking her achievement as the first female Supreme Court justice, Roberts said:
“Sandra Day O’Connor had to study and launch a career in the law when most men in the established profession did not want women lawyers — let alone judges”
Roberts added that she has to “find her own style to cajole, persuade and unite colleagues when there was no example to follow.”
“She had to ignore slights and work to bring people together in social, professional, and political life. She had to demonstrate excellence as the 102nd member of the Supreme Court, all the while setting a model as the first woman on the job,” he said.
The measure of her life and work is that “younger people today cannot understand what it was like before Justice O’Connor and what now seems a distant past.”
“In nearly a quarter century on the the court, she was a strong, influential and iconic jurist. Her leadership shaped the legal professional, making it obvious that judges are both women and men. The time when women were not on the bench seemed so far away because Justice O’Connor was so good when she was on the bench,” Roberts said.