Sandra Day O Connor Research Paper

Sandra Day O’Connor There are many people who have made an important influence on the United States of America, however, one group of people in particular, the justices of the Supreme Court, has impacted the lives of Americans greatly. The justices make decisions that affect American citizens every day. One Supreme Court justice, Sandra Day O’Connor, made those important decisions for many years. She was a prominent figure in the court and guided many Supreme Court outcomes. Sandra Day O’Connor has not only braved controversial issues dealing with religion, gender-based issues, and abortion, she has, at the same time, broken through the gender barrier wall by becoming the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Sandra Day O’Connor continued to firmly stand by the Constitution on sensitive
O’Connor was not afraid to take charge and defend the nation’s children. In a sexual abuse case from 1990, O’Connor allowed a six year old victim of abuse to testify in court using a one-way closed circuit television. Although the way the child testified defied the Confrontation Clause of the sixth Amendment, O’Connor allowed for the television to be used in the best interest of the child. In 2003 O’Connor still proved to have children’s best interests at heart in cases regarding sex offenders. O’Connor wrote the majority opinion on the case and was very involved with the outcome of the hearing: sex offenders are required to register in their states and to keep in touch so that the state can keep track of them. This decision is still extremely important and useful. Americans should have the ability to know that their neighborhoods and children are safe, or not safe, from registered sex offenders. Sandra Day O’Connor continued to protect the lives of Americans through her influence on cases involving sexual discrimination and integration. O’Connor, with her famous fifth vote, voted to allow workers to sue after being retaliated against for complaining about sexual