Acting Law Librarian Charles Doyle; former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor; Charles Camp, president of the Friends of the Law Library of Congress; and Librarian of Congress James Billington gather at Washington’s historic Willard Hotel to honor O’Connor. - Joe Shymanski
For “exceptional public service and dedication to the legal profession,” the Friends of the Law Library of Congress presented the 2008 Wickersham Award to retired Associate Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. The award was presented at a gala dinner held Oct. 30 at the historic Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C.
“The work that Justice O’Connor has accomplished, prior to taking the seat on the Supreme Court, helped pave the way for the enduring heritage that she left behind upon retirement,” said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. “This award, this official recognition, provides yet another lasting reminder for us all of her continued impact, of her sustained inspiration, of her immeasurable knowledge and of her lasting wisdom that will forever be catalogued for future generations.”
John Terzano, president and co-founder of The Justice Project and chair of the honorary event, echoed Billington’s sentiments.
John Terzano, president and co-founder of The Justice Project, presents the 2008 Wickersham Award to Justice O’Connor. - Joe Shymanski
“Since retiring, Justice O’Connor has worked tirelessly for two principles and ideas that are dear to her heart, the first being an independent judiciary and the second being educating our children,” said Terzano. “She established the Sandra Day O’Connor Project on the State of the Judiciary at the Georgetown Law Center, which has held notable national conferences discussing the need for an independent judiciary as well as dealing with topics such as ‘Our Courts and Corporate Citizenship.’ She also founded the ‘Our Courts’ project as a way to achieve her goal of educating our youth on how government works.”
Terzano revealed the less-known fact that O’Connor has even designed online computer games “as a way to teach good old-fashioned civics.”
“The crystal book is beautiful and is going to receive a prominent location in my chambers,” said O’Connor upon accepting the inscribed award from Terzano.
Visibly moved, O’Connor singled out several colleagues and friends in the audiences and talked about life-long acquaintances.
Biography
Sandra Day O’Connor was born in El Paso, Texas. She received her undergraduate and law degrees from Stanford University and subsequently served as deputy county attorney of San Mateo County, Calif. While her husband, John, was in the service overseas, she served as a civilian attorney for Quartermaster Market Center in Frankfurt, Germany. When they returned to the United States, the couple settled in Phoeniz, Ariz., and had three sons in six years.
O’Connor continued to practice law before serving as the state of Arizona’s assistant attorney general. She was appointed to the Arizona State Senate and was subsequently re-elected to two consecutive two-year terms. She served, upon election, as judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court until her appointment to the Arizona Court of Appeals. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan nominated her for the Supreme Court. Following unanimous Senate confirmation, she became the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court. She served as Associate Justice until her retirement from the bench on Jan. 31, 2006.
In 1984, O’Connor authored the decision in Strickland v. Washington (466 U.S 668) in which the court ruled that “an accused is entitled to be assisted by an attorney, whether retained or appointed, who plays the role necessary to ensure that the trial is fair.” During a recent conference sponsored jointly by the Law Library of Congress and the Constitution Project, O’Connor revisited this groundbreaking decision. (See Information Bulletin, January-February 2008.)
In addition to the Wickersham award, O’Connor has received the Liberty Medal from the National Constitution Center, the Sylvanus Thayer Award from the United States Military Academy and the Harry F. Byrd, Jr., Public Service Award from the Virginia Military Institute. She holds an honorary doctoral degree from Yale University and an honorary doctor of laws degree from Elon University School of Law. Arizona State University honored O’Connor by naming its law school after her. In October 2008, she was inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame.
In 1991, Justice O’Connor began the process of donating her papers to the Library of Congress for use by scholars in the future. The collection joins those of Supreme Court Justices Thurgood Marshall, Harry A. Blackmun and Felix Frankfurter, among others.
In 2002, O’Connor penned her autobiography, “Lazy B: Growing Up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest.” She has also written several children’s books about her childhood experiences.
Founded in 1832, the Law Library of Congress is the largest and most comprehensive source of legal information in the world and a research center for foreign, international and comparative law. A century later, the national, nonprofit Friends of the Law Library was established to encourage the preservation and growth of the Law Library.
The Wickersham Award honors George Wickersham (1858-1936), founder of the Friends of the Law Library. His distinguished law career included service as president of the New York City Bar (1914-1917), participation in the Versailles Peace Conference (1919), the founding presidency of the American Law Institute (1923-1926), and a presidential appointment to President Hoover’s National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement (1929).
Previous recipients of the Wickersham Award include former Secretary of State James A. Baker III; former Senator George Mitchell (D-Maine); former White House counsel Lloyd Cutler; and Patricia Wald, former chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
