AZ SCR1005

Sandra Day O'Connor, former Arizona State Senator and first female United States Supreme Court Justice, passed away on December 1, 2023, in Phoenix, Arizona, at age 93.

Justice O'Connor served in all three branches of government, including as Arizona Assistant Attorney General (1965), Arizona State Senate Majority Leader (1972), Maricopa County Superior Court Judge (1974), Arizona Court of Appeals Judge (1979), and U.S. Supreme Court Justice (1981-2006).

She was appointed to the United States Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and served as the Court's 102nd justice for nearly 25 years before retiring in 2006.

After retirement, Justice O'Connor founded iCivics in 2009, a nonprofit providing educational games to teach civics to middle school students, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom that same year.

The Legislature expresses its deepest sympathies at Justice O'Connor's passing and extends condolences to her surviving family members.