Reagan Appointee Sandra Day O’Connor Said Gender, Race Impact Judging

The Plum Line
Greg Sargent's blog
Posted by Greg Sargent | 05/29/2009, 11:16 AM EST

Sonia Sotomayor is taking a beating from conservatives for her 2001 speech saying that gender and race will inevitably impact one’s judgment and jurisprudence.

But guess who said something very similar? Moderately conservative Sandra Day O’Connor, who was appointed to the Supreme Court by Ronald Reagan in 1981.

O’Connor said she brings to the court the “perspective of a woman” in an interview with Ladies Home Journal soon after she was appointed. While O’Connor also said there were other factors that influence her judging more than her gender, she clearly said it was a factor. Here’s how the Associated Press reported her comments in March of 1982 (via Nexis):

The first woman on the high court tends to play down that role somewhat. “I think that I bring to the court differences in background that are more germane than my gender,” she said.

“My experience as a legislator gives me a different perspective. Also, I bring to the court the perspective of a woman primarily in a sense that I am female, just as I am white, a college graduate, etc.

“Yes, I will bring the understanding of a woman to the court, but I doubt that that alone will affect my decisions,” she said. “I think the important fact about my appointment is not that I will decide cases as a woman, but that I am a woman who will get to decide cases.”

On another occasion, O’Connor similarly suggested that race impacts one’s judging, too. After the retirement of legendary Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, O’Connor said approvingly that Marshall “imparted not only his legal acumen but also his life experiences” to the bench. That is certainly a partial reference to Marshall’s race.

To be clear, O’Connor’s sentiments aren’t identical to Sotomayor’s. O’Connor was to a degree downplaying the impact her gender might have. But O’Connor also said that such experiences did inform one’s jurisprudence, and Sotomayor’s main point, albeit not artfully expressed, was that gender and race will inevitably impact judging.

As O’Connor’s statements show, this isn’t even a controversial or new thing for a Supreme Court justice — or a would-be one — to say.