John Cornyn: “I rise to mark a historic occasion, and that is the retirement of our Nation's first female Supreme Court Justice…”

“I rise to mark a historic occasion, and that is the retirement of our Nation's first female Supreme Court Justice, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. As the father of two daughters who are now 22 and 23, I appreciate in so many ways the career of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, but one of the ways I appreciate her career is that she has paved the way toward the highest accomplishment for women in our society, and for that I shall be grateful always. She was Justice O'Connor, after all, born in El Paso, TX--I have to remind my colleagues of that--on March 26, 1930. She married law school classmate John Jay 0'Connor III in 1952 and raised three sons: Scott, Brian, and Jay--all while managing, as many women do in our society today, a career and family at the same time, but in this instance demonstrating and living out one of the most remarkable legal and political careers in our history. She received her undergraduate and law degrees at Stanford University and graduated third in her class. She then served as deputy county attorney in San Mateo County, CA, and then as a civilian attorney for Quartermaster Market Center in Frankfurt, Germany. She later served as assistant attorney general of Arizona and then as a member of the Arizona State Senate.…”