The Majesty of the Law: Reflections of a Supreme Court Justice.

by Sandra Day O'Connor

Since 1981, when Sandra Day O'Connor became the first female Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, she has attracted interest. In the preface to The Majesty of the Law, she recalls: She and her husband John "went to a restaurant for dinner with one of my law clerks. On our way out, John heard someone say about me, 'It doesn't look like her, but it's her.' Others have asked me if I knew how much I looked like Sandra O'Connor.... And a few people, when they hear that Justice O'Connor is present, walk over to shake John's hand and tell him how proud they are to meet a Justice."

The interest of her book (copyright 2003) resides in insights of this individual justice and facts from our legal world.

Justice O'Connor reveals a reverence for the law. In the courtroom, she is seated beneath a marble panel of an allegorical figure of the Majesty of the Law. "The panel itself suggests why we revere" this majesty: it safeguards the "liberties and rights of the people," defends "human rights and the protection of the innocence," and "embodies the hope that impartial judges will impart wisdom and fairness when they decide the cases that come before them." She notes historical legal milestones from the influence of the Magna Carta and the rule of law, the effect of compositional changes of the Supreme Court, the contribution of states in the legal process (praise for Florida for enforcing Gideon and recognition of Tennessee in its swing vote for Amend. XIX), to the continual commitment "to basic concepts of democracy" that depends on custom, tradition, and the efforts of millions of ordinary citizens." She also challenges continual search for legal reasoning, including both common-law courts and other foreign legal systems to "enable us to remain progressive, with systems that can cope with a rapidly shrinking world."

She faces two issues of particular--and related-interest: "whether it makes a difference that we have women judges, and whether the justice dispensed by women judges is somehow different from the justice we would expect from men." The positive difference for the first comes from recognition of both dignity and equality among all humans. The "No Difference" for the second is dramatized through quoting Justice Ginsburg ("I have detected no reliable indicator of distinctly male or surely female thinking-or even penmanship.") and quoting Justice Jeanne Coyne of the Minnesota Supreme Court ("a wise old man and a wise old woman reach the same conclusion."). Around this "No," however, floats her chosen phrase: "subtle differences." These arguments appear in Part Four, Women and the Law, selections from her numerous speaking appearances, including by her 19th year on the court a speech in every state.

Throughout The Majesty of the Law, specific details add interest. Three examples follow: "The Supreme Court reverses about two thirds of the lower-court decisions in those cases it reviews." "Recently, the Court has been receiving over 7,000 petitions a year and has been accepting fewer than 100." "The number of criminal-procedure cases decided by the Court rose gradually from about 12 per term in the 1950s to around 25 per term in the mid-sixties, and has remained essentially constant." Why this number? "My guess is that criminal procedure is simply not perfectible."

The individual insights and fascinating lore-in addition to short chapters, notes on each, clear writing style-and the timeliness of this Associate Justice rumored to "be the swing vote" and to be considering retirement make this a readable book about the Associate Justice (now in her 22nd year on the Supreme Court). Justice O'Connor's positive attitude sets the tone: "I am still amazed that I am that lady."

The Majesty of the Law sells for $25.95 (in-store), $18.17 (on-line), 330 pages.

C.D. Rogers is a member of The Florida Bar.