What the framers of the Constitution tried to achieve when they wrote that Constitution back in the 1700s was an independent federal judiciary. They wanted federal judges to be appointed by the president, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and to serve for good behavior.
Sandra Day O'ConnorI'm a judge. It seemed to me that it was critical to try to take action to stem the criticism and help people understand that in the constitutional framework, it's terribly important not to have a system of retaliation against decisions people don't like.
Sandra Day O'ConnorThe members of the court were just delighted to have a ninth member - male or female. They were all kind and welcoming.
Sandra Day O'ConnorWe don't accomplish anything in this world alone... and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one's life and all the weavings of individual threads form one to another that creates something.
Sandra Day O'ConnorIt's hard to have little children and a job and career at the same time. There is no time left for you as a woman.
Sandra Day O'ConnorI care very much about women and their progress. I didn’t go march in the streets, but when I was in the Arizona Legislature, one of the things that I did was to examine every single statute in the state of Arizona to pick out the ones that discriminated against women and get them changed.
Sandra Day O'Connor