The U.S. Supreme Court announced the death today of retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the Court’s first woman member. (Linda Greenhouse’s comprehensive obituary in the New York Times is here.)

Tributes have been wide-ranging, including from California’s judiciary:

  • California Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero, a Stanford Law School alum like Justice O’Connor — “Today, as we all reflect on Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s pioneering spirit, accomplishments, and particularly her courage to open the doors for women who never dreamed of joining the legal profession or being a judge, let alone a United States Supreme Court justice, we also acknowledge her dedication as an advocate for civics education for America’s youth, and her commitment to the rule of law in our constitutional democracy.”
  • Retired Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye — “I’m deeply saddened to learn of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s passing.  In 1981, in my first year of law school, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, the first woman in the history of our country.  It was momentous, the legal world opened up and I felt like a part of it. She has been an inspiration, a beacon and an icon, symbolizing all that may be achieved when women are given a fair opportunity to participate, compete and be heard. She was grit, brilliance, humor, compassion-undaunted. I’m grateful to have spent time with her. She enriched my career and life.” (Related: Chief Justice praises Justice O’Connor as a “righteous icon in the law”.)
  • Retired Chief Justice Ronald George — “Much will be said about the very substantial contributions made by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor to the jurisprudence of our nation, and to the advancement of the role of women in the judiciary and the legal profession.  Equally noteworthy, but not as widely recognized, was her active commitment to improving civics education.  I was privileged to serve on the Georgetown University Law Center’s Sandra Day O’Connor Project on the State of the Judiciary, which in 2009 assisted Justice O’Connor in establishing the iCivics program, whose mission is to ensure that all students receive a high-quality civics education and become engaged in our political system.  The iCivics program now serves millions of students in every state through its classroom lesson plans, gaming modules, and on-line workshops.  It has become the most widely adopted civics curriculum in the United States.  In the long run, this program may be the most outstanding feature of Justice O’Connor’s exceptional legacy.”
  • Second District Court of Appeal Justice Brian Hoffstadt, who clerked for Justice O’Connor during the October 1996 term — “Justice O’Connor was an accomplished jurist, a trailblazing woman, and a champion for educating the next generation on the importance of being caretakers of our fragile democracy.  To those of us who had the honor of clerking for her, she was also an engaging storyteller, a cherished mentor, and a surrogate mother who unceasingly rooted for us to explore everything that life and the law have to offer.”

Additionally, this sad day stirs memories of the much happier time when Justice O’Connor was a guest at the 2012 Spring meeting of the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers:

Justice O’Connor with other judicial guests, including Fifth District Court of Appeal Justice Brad Hill, U.N. Special Rapporteur Gabriela Knaul, retired D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Patricia Wald, California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Second District Court of Appeal Justice Richard Mosk, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge William Fletcher
Justice O’Connor on a panel with U.N. Special Rapporteur Gabriela Knaul, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, and moderator Beth Jay, the Chief Justice’s principal attorney. Academy president David Ettinger is at left.
Justice O’Connor with Academy member Dennis Fischer
Justice O’Connor with Academy member Roz Zakheim