Portal:Texas/Selected Biography/18

Sandra Day O'Connor (born March 26, 1930) is an American jurist and former politician who served as the first female Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. In 2004, Forbes magazine called her the fourth most powerful woman in the United States and the sixth most powerful in the world.

Prior to joining the Supreme Court, she was a politician and jurist in Arizona. She was nominated to the Court by President Ronald Reagan and served for over twenty-four years. On July 1, 2005, she announced her intention to retire effective upon the confirmation of her successor. Justice Samuel Alito, nominated to take her seat in October 2005, received confirmation on January 31, 2006.