Current Supreme Court Lacks O’Connor’s Political Experience (1)

Sandra Day O’Connor was known for firsts, as the first woman to sit on the US Supreme Court, but she also stands out for being the last justice on the bench to have had any prior elected experience.

O’Connor served as a state senator in Arizona, where she became the first woman to become the majority leader, and then as an elected state court judge, a background that’s become unusual in recent decades for sitting Supreme Court justices.

“It’s mostly forgotten now but at the time of her appointment, a lot of people were very skeptical about this resume,” said ...