Scope and Content Note
The papers of Sandra Day O'Connor (1930-2023) span the years 1944-2008, with the bulk from 1981 to 2006. O'Connor became the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court when she was nominated in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan. O'Connor's papers reflect the accomplishments of a woman who became active in law and politics at a time when few women were encouraged to pursue those fields. They also attest to her pivotal role as the Court has reevaluated longtime constitutional issues involving civil rights, separation of church and state, First Amendment freedoms, abortion, and affirmative action. The collection consists of two parts, with some topics and time periods common to both.
Part I
Part I of the papers spans the years from 1963 to 1988, with the bulk concentrated in the period 1970-1981. The majority of Part I documents O'Connor's early years as a Supreme Court Justice from 1981 to 1986. Also featured is material relating to her career as a public official in Arizona primarily from 1970 to 1981. The papers in Part I are in English and consist of two series: Arizona File and Supreme Court File.
The Arizona File, 1963-1983, in Part I includes political pamphlets for her campaigns for the state senate and superior court; senate voting records; lists of bills she sponsored that passed the legislature; senate subject files on community property laws, energy, and land use issues; letters of congratulations on her superior court and appeals court appointments; and lists of opinions and copies of memoranda concerning Court of Appeals cases. Also featured are files relating to judicial ethics, judicial reform, and the Sixth Anglo-American Legal Exchange that O'Connor attended in 1980.
The Supreme Court File, 1979-1988, comprises almost all of the papers in Part I and is divided into three subseries: Administrative File, Case File, and Dockets. The Administrative File consists chiefly of correspondence, including congratulatory letters, general correspondence, and letters from school classes and children. The correspondence is full of letters from women and girls of all ages inspired and proud of O'Connor's achievements. The correspondence reflects the seriousness with which O'Connor took her position as a role model for women. In written responses to her well-wishers, O'Connor noted that her nomination did not rest solely on her accomplishments but was the culmination of hard work by "many other women, living and dead," who have proved "what a woman can do if she is given an opportunity to use her talents." In addition, there are cards and letters relating to her surgery for breast cancer in 1988, including correspondence from women who had undergone mastectomies and recovered from cancer. Also featured in Part I of the Administrative File are transcripts pertaining to her confirmation hearing to the Supreme Court.
The Case File in Part I documents O'Connor's jurisprudence for the Supreme Court terms from 1981 to 1985. The Case File is arranged by term and therein alphabetically by docket and then by docket number. Within these files, the material is arranged in chronological order. There is only one original jurisdiction case in Part I; it is located in the 1981 term. Represented in these files are slip opinions, copies of draft opinions annotated by justices, memoranda between justices, bench memoranda, and O'Connor's handwritten notes, including those made during oral argument and court conferences. One case particularly scrutinized during the justice's first term was Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan. O'Connor wrote the opinion for the Court finding in favor of a male applicant seeking admission to the nursing school of the Mississippi University for Women, indicating that men as well as women are protected against gender discrimination based on the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection.
Two other cases that O'Connor considered among her most important during her early years on the bench are Lynch v. Donnelly and Wallace v. Jaffree, both First Amendment cases. In Lynch, O'Connor concurred with the majority to allow a city government to erect a Christmas display, while in the Wallace case she voted to strike down Alabama's moment of silence, arguing that its intent was to encourage school prayer over meditation or reflection. Also included in Part I are files about City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health, documenting O'Connor's strong dissent against the Court's reaffirmation of the landmark abortion ruling, Roe v. Wade. O'Connor wrote that Roe's trimester approach was "unworkable." Part II also contains case files for the 1985 term.
Part II
Part II of the collection spans from 1944 to 2008, with most of the items concentrated in the period from 1981 to 2006. The papers supplement the files in Part I, particularly O'Connor's senate and judicial career in Arizona, her appointment to the Supreme Court, and her activities as a Supreme Court justice. The papers in Part II are in English and are organized into the following series: Arizona File, Supreme Court File, Writings File, Miscellany, Closed: Separated Law Clerk Memoranda, Classified, and Oversize.The Arizona File, 1958-1981, in Part II relates primarily to O'Connor's activities and interests while serving as a state senator, a judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court, and a judge of the Arizona Court of Appeals. Most of the papers are speech files, including texts, notes, and background material, given during O'Connor's years as a legislator and judge. Speech topics include business, education, inspirational and patriotic subjects, law, the judiciary in Arizona, and women. Also represented in this series is O'Connor's work as a member of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services.
The Supreme Court File, 1970-2006, comprising more than five hundred boxes, documents O'Connor's twenty-four years of service as an associate justice. The series is divided into five subseries: Correspondence, Administrative File, Case File, Dockets, and Speech and Engagement File.
The Correspondence subseries, 1981-2006, contains professional and personal correspondence organized into four categories: abortion, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, general, and schools and school children. The abortion mail, pro and con, is chiefly letters sent in 1989 before the Court's decision in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services. In that decision the Court upheld Missouri's restrictions on abortion and accepted limits on the use of federal funding for abortion-related services. This correspondence was sampled by O'Connor's staff and only a selected portion was received by the Library. The scouting correspondence is primarily letters from O'Connor congratulating a boy or girl on achieving a particular scouting milestone.
The general correspondence in the Supreme Court File contains letters relating to O'Connor's personal and professional activities. The correspondence contains incoming and outgoing letters between O'Connor and lawyers, judges, congressional representatives, senators, government officials, foreign leaders, journalists, friends, her staff, and the public. Included in the general correspondence are congratulatory and thank-you letters, invitations, and autograph and photograph requests. The correspondence is arranged somewhat by court term beginning in October of a year and ending in September of the next year. The Library did not receive general correspondence for the terms 1991 and 1998. Although O'Connor retired from the court on January 31, 2006, correspondence for the 2006 term has been kept together as part of the Supreme Court File as it was maintained by her staff. Some correspondence in this series overlaps with material in the Administrative File of Part II and also complements the general correspondence in Part I. O'Connor received correspondence from schools and school children concerning a wide range of topics such as questions about the Supreme Court, career advice, birthday greetings, and get-well cards concerning her surgery for breast cancer in 1988.
The Administrative File, 1970-2006, relates primarily to O'Connor's appointment to the Supreme Court. These files include briefing material documenting her opinions as a judge and her voting record as a senator in Arizona. The congratulatory correspondence pertaining to her nomination supplements similar letters in Part I. A diary of O'Connor's husband, John Jay O'Connor (1930-2009), describes events surrounding O'Connor's confirmation hearing and meetings and briefings relating to her appointment. The Administrative File also includes invitations accepted, articles received that include occasional letters regarding books received, interviews, and press files. The press files consist mostly of news clippings about O'Connor, although the files also contain material relating to the Supreme Court and a few items about her family.
The Case File, 1981-2006, comprises over half of the Supreme Court File. In the Case File the appellate and in forma pauperis cases are arranged by court term and therein numerically by docket number. Within these files, the material is usually arranged in reverse chronological order. O'Connor's oral argument notes and conference notes are typically located at the back of a folder or in the last folder of a case with multiple folders. The original jurisdiction docket is filed after the appellate and in forma pauperis cases. Not included are bench memoranda; certiorari memoranda; and administrative material such as argument and assignment lists, conference and order lists, and applications.
The Case File reflects O'Connor's role as a centrist on the Court who frequently cast the deciding vote in many of its five to four decisions. Some of the significant decisions in which she participated include abortion rights (Planned Parenthood v. Casey and Webster v. Reproductive Health Services), campaign spending and campaign contributions (McConnell v. Federal Election Commission as part of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act Cases and Federal Election Commission v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee), affirmative action and discrimination (Grutter v. Bollinger, Adarand Constructors v. Pena, and Boy Scouts of America v. Dale), and the presidential election of 2000 (Bush v. Gore).
The Dockets subseries, 1985-1995, provides a record of the name and docket number of individual cases and indicates how the justices voted on a case. In 1994 and 1995 the justice's staff began filing original docket sheets or photocopies of the docket sheets in the Case File instead of maintaining a separate file. Docket sheets prior to 1994 are filed separately in this subseries and photocopies of the sheets are also often filed in the Case File subseries.
The Speech and Engagement File, 1981-2005, of Part II of the Supreme Court File documents O'Connor's attendance at events to give a speech, accept an award, receive an honorary degree, or her travel for vacations and holidays. The files include O'Connor's speeches and drafts of speeches, background information, and scheduling itineraries and related material.
The Writings File, 1975-2008, relates chiefly to books written by O'Connor and writings by others about O'Connor. The bulk of the files relates to her books Lazy B: Growing Up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest and The Majesty of the Law: Reflections of a Supreme Court Justice. The Lazy B, written with her brother, H. Alan Day, describes their youth growing up on a cattle ranch in Arizona and New Mexico, and these files include an oral history transcript featuring O'Connor's parents, Harry A. Day, referred to as "DA" by his children, and Ada Mae Day, referred to as "MO" by her children. The Majesty of the Law is a compilation of many of her speeches and talks relating to the law, her years as a Supreme Court justice, and how the Court evolved and changed.
The Miscellany series, 1944-2007, consists chiefly of family papers, material about her high school located in Austin High School in El Paso, Texas, and a few letters from 2007, after her retirement from the Supreme Court. The bulk of the family papers contains the diaries of O'Connor's husband, John, dating from 1981 to 2005. The diaries reflect their extensive social and travel schedules, provide additional insight about their daily activities, and include John O'Connor's comments about national issues and government leaders. Also chronicled is the justice's diagnosis of breast cancer in October 1988, her encounter with John Riggins, a football player for the Washington Redskins, at a dinner party in January 1985, and John O'Connor's account as an observer during oral arguments for Bush v. Gore in 2000.
The Separated Law Clerk Memoranda (Closed), 1982-2005, series contains memoranda and notes written by law clerks and intially filed in the Case File subseries of the Part II: Supreme Court File series. After a review conducted by Court officials at the justice's request, these items were separated and designated as closed until December 1, 2048.
Correspondents include Fred W. Friendly, Barry M. Goldwater, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Linda Greenhouse, Craig Joyce, Alan K. Simpson, Ted Stevens, and Charles Alan Wright.