How Did Sandra Day O Connor Influence American Culture

In August of 1981, Arizona Appeals Court Judge Sandra Day O’Connor was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan. O’Connor faced criticism from conservatives due to her lack of experience on constitutional and federal judicial knowledge. While, the liberals were finally pleased to see a woman on the Supreme Court, many were dismayed that she was not a strong supporter of the current feminist issues (Oyez, n.d.). Yet, while on the Court, her Roe v Wade’s "pro-choice" decision was endorsed by liberals. Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman Supreme Court Justice, influenced American culture by providing the swing vote on numerous landmark cases and by changing the demographics of the Court. Sandra Day

Also in 1972, Judge O’Connor was elected as Senate Majority Leader. O’Connor also served on the Legislative Council and for the Arizona Advisory Council on diplomatic relations. In 1975, she became a Superior Court Judge of Maricopa County and served as Judge of the Arizona Court of Appeals in 1979. O’Connor was nominated to the Supreme Court on July 7th, 1981 by President Ronald Reagan in fulfillment a campaign promise. O’Connor was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in September 22nd and was sworn in as Supreme Court Justice in September 25th, 1981 (Cornell University,

Supreme Court Sandra Day O’Connor is regarded as the most influential women and lawyer due to her position on the Court as well being a global spokeswoman for judicial independence and women’s rights. Although women justices are described as empathetic, patient, and open to hearing all cases, O’Connor strayed from the barriers set by social construction of the genders. She did not allow herself to be limited by stereotypes, career choices aimed at women, family demands, or the political system as a whole. Although Judge O’Connor was known to regularly vote in the Republican platform, she remained the swing vote justice on the most critical cases. Judge O’Connor was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama in 2009. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation's highest civilian award which is given to those who make a meritorious contribution to the national interests of the US, world peace, and cultural differences. O’Connor will also be known for creating the Avon Women & Justice Project which creates solutions to reduce domestic violence against women and children and also aims to provide legal services to victims. O’Connor also created the SAFE Action Project who works to reduce Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking and educate the people about human trafficking (Salvation Army,