Sandra Day O'Connor and HHS Students

Morgan presents former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor with some Hornet gear.

Justice O'Connor discussed the process of a Supreme Court case, her work on the Iraq Study Group, growing up on a ranch in Arizona and her Our Courts judicial education/civics project. Questions and answers are below. This meeting took place September 21st, 2007 at the Supreme Court.

Mrs. Ivey, Mrs. Small, Mrs. Hilton, Justice O'Connor, Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Roberts

Everyone was told to be at the prearranged spot at 12:40. The students all were. As for the Principal......

Andi- None of us had the upbringing you wrote about in "Lazy B". Do you think it would serve this country well if more of us did have that type of upbringing? ANSWER- I did not realize my upbringing was unique at the time. In those days you had to learn how to do things, how to fix things, how to make things. I could drive on the ranch as soon as I could see over the dashboard. I had to milk the cows, twice a day. I had to take care of the horses. I feel bad for kids living in urban areas that don't have those type of responsibilities. I guess school is that responsibility now, so do a good job in school!

Gray (right)- To what extent should judges concern themselves with foreign law decisions when deciding an American case? ANSWER- Cases involving the federal law such at the Constitution should be focused on internally. But in cases involving treaties, international law and global business disputes, precedents of foreign cases should be considered. We should look at law beyond our borders. It depends on the case.

Rachel, Katherine, Morgan and Ben

Morgan- Recommendation 61 of the Iraq Study Group states that programs led by the Justice Department should establish courts and train judges. If this president or the next one wanted you to go to back to Iraq to help with that process would you be willing to do that? ANSWER- I did go to Iraq and I am not going back. I met with Iraqi judges. It's manslaughter over there.

Gray, Shaila, Jessica, Emily, Iman

Jessica- I don't want you to reveal anything you don't want to, but how was your meeting with President Bush when your Iraq Study Group presented its report. Did he seem receptive to your findings? ANSWER- We said "here it is", he said "thank you" and then he left to go study it. They were not enthused with some of the suggestions we made.

Emily- As you know, Hillary Clinton is running for President. Do you think this nation is ready to elect a female president? ANSWER- Well if the nation believes that she is the best candidate then yes.

Marshall (left)- Regarding your Our Courts project, do you see this expanding beyond the Judicial Branch and Civics into other social sciences and perhaps other subjects as well? ANSWER- Sure, but this is my big interest and we should start here, with Civics. And you should be part of what makes it happen. Get involved with your local governments. One nice thing about the Our Courts project is that I met with George Lucas of Star Wars and he will be helping us put it together.

Asbah

Anna, Kelly, Tom

Anna- What was it like when your first walked into the Oval Office to meet with President Reagan when he was thinking about nominating you for the Supreme Court? ANSWER- President Reagan was very charming. We talked for about an hour but most of that was spent talking about his ranch in California and me growing up on a ranch in Arizona. I was relieved flying home because I did not want the job and didn't think I'd be offered it. A week later he called me up and 25 years later here I am.

Tom- In The Majesty of Law you wrote about the difficulties of suddenly being a celebrity and the intrusion on your privacy. Do you still have to put up with being a celebrity? ANSWER- Yes, more people recognize me today than when I was first nominated. They usually say "Thank You" and other nice things. I think the people that don't like you probably don't say anything. The media was the problem. I did not like the media intruding on my privacy when I was first became a justice. It was horrifying. They would go through my trash and try to find out things. It all ended after the 2nd woman joined the court. Now there is only one and that's too bad.

Marshall

Rebecca and Andi