Evan Thomas: Author, "First: Sandra Day O’Connor"

Early Formative Lessons:

• Learned "don't take the bait" strategy by observing her mother's non-reactive responses to her overbearing, drinking father's provocations.
• Internalized the necessity of distinguishing between "fighting" and "getting into stupid egotistical arguments," a trait crucial during her time in the Arizona state legislature where colleagues attempted to provoke physical stress reactions (twitching) to unnerve her.
• Developed self-sufficiency and a connection to civilization while living on the "Lazy Bee Ranch," bolstered by her mother's insistence on wearing skirts and shoes and subscribing to Vogue.

Stanford Education and Romance:

• Entered Stanford University in 1946 at age 16, navigating a 3:1 male-to-female ratio of returning GIs.
• Took a "Western Civilization" course emphasizing the rule of law and the capacity for individuals to shape their own destiny.
• Engaged in a romantic relationship with William Rehnquist, who proposed marriage via one of 14 letters found in her papers; they remained professional colleagues on the Supreme Court for decades without revealing the prior engagement.

Career Barriers and Network Building:

• Faced severe employment discrimination in 1950s California, where firms like Gibson-Dunn refused to hire her, citing her inability to type and gender bias.
• Accepted a position in a downscale Phoenix shopping mall while her husband joined a top-tier firm, later taking a five-year hiatus to raise three sons while becoming president of the Junior League.
• Cultivated a "power couple" network in Phoenix, befriending Barry Goldwater and establishing connections that led to her eventual appointment to the bench.

Legislative Pragmatism:

• Became the first woman to serve as Majority Leader of any state Senate in the U.S.
• Practiced strategic pragmatism regarding the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), allowing it to die in committee rather than losing a public battle, while simultaneously amending every gender-biased state law in Arizona to gender-neutral status.

Supreme Court Confirmation and Role:

• Nominated by President Reagan in 1980 as part of a strategy to win back female voters; confirmed by the Senate 99–0 (one senator absent due to illness).
• Successfully neutralized conservative opposition to her nomination by personally charming senators like Jesse Helms while avoiding firm commitments on abortion.
• Served as the decisive "swing vote" in roughly 330 cases over 24 years, often forming 5–4 majorities.

Judicial Philosophy and Key Rulings:

• Rehnquist & O'Connor: Transformed the Supreme Court's culture from isolated and distrustful to cohesive, establishing the tradition of mandatory weekly lunches among justices.
• Gender Discrimination (Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan, 1982): Wrote the majority opinion prohibiting gender-based exclusion in state nursing schools, noting that men could also suffer from discrimination.
• Abortion Rights (Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 1992): Rejected the trimester framework of Roe v. Wade as medically outdated, replacing it with the "undue burden" standard to preserve abortion rights while allowing state regulation.
• Affirmative Action (Grutter v. Bollinger, 2003): Voted to uphold affirmative action in law school admissions, citing the military's need for a diverse officer corps and the necessity of diversity in training future national leaders.
• Proposed a temporal limit on affirmative action, suggesting it might not be necessary in 25 years.

Personal Traits and Work Habits:

• Adopted a "whole life" philosophy, prioritizing dinner parties, museum visits, and social engagement over relentless work; she avoided mindless television and social media.
• Described by clerks as an "unfeminist feminist" who used strategic compromise and bridge-building rather than ideological activism to achieve results.
• Acted as a mentor and "glue" for future female justices (Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan), opening the door for their entry into the judiciary.