Sinema Honors the Life and Legacy of Arizonan and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor

Dec 14, 2023

Senate passed Sinema’s bipartisan resolution honoring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s lifetime of service as an Arizona State Senator, American civics advocate, and America’s first female Supreme Court Justice

WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s bipartisan resolution honoring the life and legacy of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor passed the U.S. Senate. Fellow Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.) joined Sinema in introducing this bipartisan resolution.

Sinema’s resolution honors Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s lifetime of service to the United States as a successful Arizona State Senator, trailblazer, expert collaborator, educational advocate, and the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States.

“Justice Sandra Day O’Connor – Arizona’s original cowgirl – paved the way for countless women like me in law and life. She was fiercely independent, an Arizona maverick, and a proud American who always put our state and country first. We are proud to honor her incredible service and lasting legacy,” said Sinema, Arizona’s first female elected U.S. Senator.

“Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was a great Arizonan and a great American. My wife, Gabby, and I deeply admired her. Justice O’Connor’s brilliant, thoughtful legal career leaves a legacy in our law and in the generations of young girls inspired by her trailblazing example,” said Kelly.

“Sandra Day O’Connor was a model public servant: an accomplished lawmaker, a principled jurist, and a trailblazer at a time when there were very few other women in the legal profession. Our nation will always be grateful for her work, accomplishments, and pioneering spirit as the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court,” said Blackburn.

Click HERE to read the resolution text.

Sinema, an alumna of ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law, gave the Convocation Address to the Class of 2019, where she shared how Justice O’Connor’s Arizona roots inspired and paved the way for her and other women pursuing careers in law and public service.

In 2022, both chambers of Congress approved a bipartisan resolution cosponsored by Sinema authorizing the permanent placement of statues honoring U.S. Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the U.S. Capitol.

In 2019, following Sinema’s efforts, the National Park Service formally added the Sandra Day O’Connor House to the National Register of Historic Places.