Flags at half-staff: Biden says Sandra Day O’Connor defined by 'no-nonsense Arizona roots'

President Joe Biden issued Monday a proclamation in memory of the late former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, remembering her as a pathbreaking figure with a commitment to the civic principles of U.S. democracy.

O'Connor died Friday at the age of 93.

“She sought to avoid ideology, and was devoted to the rule of law and to the bedrock American principle of an independent judiciary,” reads the proclamation, a formal announcement from the president’s office.

“Defined by her no-nonsense Arizona ranch roots, Justice O'Connor overcame discrimination early on, at a time when law firms too often told women to seek work as secretaries, not attorneys.”

The proclamation also orders that flags on U.S. public grounds, at home and at military and diplomatic posts abroad, be flown at half-staff on the day of O’Connor’s burial.

Biden and O’Connor, a moderate conservative, had their fair share of political disagreements. During O’Connor’s confirmation hearings, the two sparred over the idea of judicial activism, and how justices’ interpretation of the law ought to change as social mores evolve.

“I did not agree with all of her opinions, but I admired her decency and unwavering devotion to the facts, to our country, to active citizenship and the common good,” Biden wrote in a statement released over the weekend.

During her confirmation hearings, Biden, who was then a senator on the Judiciary Committee, pushed back on O’Connor’s statement that it would be “inappropriate” for her to promote the Equal Rights Amendment, the proposed constitutional amendment designed to guarantee equal rights for citizens regardless of sex, as a sitting justice.

“You are a tremendous asset. You are a woman and the first one on the Court; don't let these folks, me included, run you out of being that,” Biden told O’Connor at the time. “You are a woman; you do stand for something that this country needs very badly. We need spokespersons in positions of high authority. Don't lock yourself in, in this hearing or any other hearing, to do things that you are not proscribed from doing in the canons of ethics.”

Biden said that O’Connor’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court, which passed by a vote of 99-0, as “proof that our nation can come together to move history forward.”

His proclamation highlighted O’Connor’s commitment to democratic principles in her jurisprudence, and in the work of the civic education nonprofit, iCivics, which she founded after retiring from the high court.

“Justice O'Connor never quit striving to make this Nation stronger, calling on us all to engage with our country and with one another, and her institute's work to promote civics education and civil discourse has touched millions,” he wrote. “She knew that for democracy to work, we have to listen to each other, and remember how much more we all have in common as Americans than what keeps us apart.”

Laura Gersony is a national politics reporter for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @lauragersony.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Biden didn't always agree with O’Connor, but admired her decency