As an Arizona judge, Sandra Day O'Connor was tough and demanding — but fair

Editor's note: This is the fifth of The Arizona Republic's 11-chapter profile of retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Read the first chapter: An Arizona original with rancher values

In 1971, while she was in the Arizona state Senate, Sandra Day O'Connor co-sponsored a bill that would change the way Superior Court judges were put on the bench.

At that time, all judges were elected. To take politics out of the court, O'Connor's bill proposed that they be appointed by the governor for their merit after an in-depth vetting process.

The bill failed.

She and her colleagues tried and failed again in 1973. And then O'Connor ran for Maricopa County Superior Court judge and won in 1974 — the same year that a citizens' initiative passed, instituting merit selection in Arizona's largest counties. (There is now merit selection in Maricopa, Pima and Pinal counties; the other counties still elect judges).

O'Connor was a tough and demanding judge by all accounts.

"Sandra had a very good reputation," said Mary Schroeder, who now sits on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and knew O'Connor from the days when they were both Arizona state judges. "She had a mind for detail," and for that reason, the appellate judges counted on her to make a very complete record of the cases she tried.

A tough, demanding judge

Hattie Babbitt, who later became good friends with O'Connor, recalls being a young lawyer in front of her in the Superior Court. She recalls being intimidated because O'Connor expected a lot of lawyers.

Babbitt was also pregnant with her first child, and one day, when her hearing before O'Connor ended, O'Connor asked her to stay behind and gave her a lecture on how to manage a child and a law practice at the same time.

Babbitt recalled that, while sitting in on Supreme Court hearings years later, O'Connor spoke up and "I got nervous, and it was the same voice."

Ruth McGregor, the former Arizona Supreme Court justice who was O'Connor's first clerk at the U.S. Supreme Court said, "Her reputation was, if you're going before Judge O'Connor, you've got to be prepared."

She had to be stern, McGregor said: There were only three women on the bench, and they needed to show they meant business.

O'Connor was already known for her fairness.

"Her attitude both in the legislature and in person is that what mattered in life and in our democracy was respecting peoples' rights," said Alfredo Gutierrez, who served with her in the state senate, though as a Democrat.

Milestones started in Arizona

O'Connor carried her experiences in state government with her for the rest of her career. She had been a lawyer in private practice, an Assistant Arizona Attorney General, a state senator and the first female president of a state senate anywhere.

And that propelled her career forward.

Hattie Babbitt's husband, Bruce Babbitt, first encountered O'Connor as an attorney, when he appeared as a witness in state senate hearings.

"I was deeply impressed by how she had handled a series of dry-as-dust hearings," he said.

The material was dull, but she kept track of all the complex moving parts.

"The next time that I encountered her was as governor, and merit selection was in full bloom by then," he said.

It was 1979, and Babbitt needed to fill a vacancy on the Arizona Court of Appeals after President Jimmy Carter had poached Schroeder from that court and appointed her to the 9th Circuit.

O'Connor had been a Superior Court judge for five years.

She would only remain on the appeals bench for two more.

Carter had decided to "make the federal bench look like America," as Schroeder put it. He started appointing women and minorities to the federal bench. But he never had the chance to appoint anyone to the Supreme Court.

Enter Ronald Reagan, who had included in his campaign a promise to appoint a woman to the high court. That chance came when Justice Potter Stewart retired.

The rest is history.

PREVIOUS CHAPTER: Rise from a Republican activist to an Arizona lawmaker

NEXT CHAPTER: A well-connected candidate draws Washington's attention

Sandra Day O'Connor: American legend
Introduction: Arizona ranch girl, American legend
Chapter 1: O'Connor embodies Grand Canyon State
Chapter 2: Ranch life taught some of the most important lessons
Chapter 3: Breaking barriers as a young lawyer
Chapter 4: Rise from GOP activist to lawmaker
Chapter 5: A tough and demanding judge — but fair
Chapter 6: A well-connected candidate draws Washington's attention
Chapter 7: Confirmation hearing foreshadowed today's politics
Chapter 8: As the Supreme Court shifted right, she shifted to the middle
Chapter 9: 3 key Supreme Court opinions to remember
Chapter 10: In retirement, a focus on civics and conversation
Chapter 11: Raising 3 boys and breaking the glass ceiling

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Judge Sandra Day O'Connor was tough but fair in Arizona courts