Florida State Law was fortunate to have the first female justice of the United States Supreme Court on campus Tuesday, April 7, 2009. Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor offered the law and high school students present insight into her path to the high court and advice on bettering their own careers.She was invited to Florida’s Capitol to discuss a civics education program she promotes and visited Florida State Law while she was in Tallahassee for the joint legislative session.
“There is not a lot of love for judges,” she explained. When O’Connor retired from the Supreme Court, she said she thought, “Maybe there is something I can do. [The courts] had been my life for 30-plus years.”
After a series of conferences, O’Connor led an effort to develop a Web site, http://www.ourcourts.org/, with interactive components to encourage middle school-aged children to learn about civics and government. The effort was aided by Georgetown University and Arizona State University.
“We are missing the boat when it comes to educating our young people about the judicial system,” she said. When she was a young student, she explained, schools had courses in civics and government almost every year. Now, half of states do not require any civics and government education.
“I think that’s appalling,” she said.
After discussing the need for civics education, O’Connor answered questions from the students and faculty gathered in the Florida State Law Rotunda.
She described having graduated from Stanford Law in 1952 and being unable to find a job, not because she was unqualified but because she was a woman. “My classmates were having big success at big firms,” she added.
So, O’Connor approached the San Mateo County (California) District Attorney for a position because she heard he had once hired a woman. He explained that he did not have a salary or office space for her, but she promised to work for him for free until a position was available — which she did for three-and-a-half months.
“In today’s world, some of you may have to be a little innovative to get jobs,” O’Connor said. She said she had to be innovative to find a position on more than one occasion.
O’Connor also advised students to take a speed reading course. She explained that the biggest challenge of the high court was the mountains of reading for each case and the ability to speed read kept her afloat. “In all interesting jobs, that’s often the case,” she added about the reading load.
When asked about any regrets she had as a justice, she said, “I decided early on as a judge to put all the effort in at the front end and not look back and second-guess decisions. That’s no way to be a judge.” She acknowledged that she may not have always gotten a decision right, but she always put her best effort into it — the way any attorney or judge should practice.
At the close of the question-and-answer session, O’Connor offered advice for a visiting group of high school students who might be contemplating law school: “Learn anything — except pre-law.” She said there would be plenty of time to learn the letter of the law and an undergraduate degree provided a chance to study a wide array of options — anything from Shakespeare to geology.
By request of O’Connor and http://www.ourcourts.com/, the law school invited a limited number of student leaders and faculty for “Coffee and Conversation with Justice O’Connor.”
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