March is Women’s History Month, and this month we take a moment to recognize and learn a little bit about women who have served on the United States Supreme Court. The Court is the highest tribunal in the Nation for all cases and controversies arising under the Constitution or the laws of the United States. As the final arbiter of the law, the Court is charged with ensuring the American people the promise of equal justice under law and, thereby, also functions as guardian and interpreter of the Constitution. To date, six women have served on the Court, with four of them still actively serving.
Born in 1930, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s early life was spent on her family cattle ranch in Texas. She attended Stanford University, earning her B.A. in economics followed by a law degree from the same in 1952. Prior to her Supreme Court appointment, she worked as a deputy county attorney, Attorney General of Arizona, a member of the Arizona State Senate, and as a Justice in the Maricopa County Superior Court.
In 1981, President Reagan nominated Sandra for the Court. Justice O’Connor was the first woman ever to be nominated and confirmed to the court. Although her nomination was originally opposed by pro-life and religious groups, who worried she should not rule in favor of overturning Roe vs. Wade (1973), she was eventually confirmed by a 99-0 vote in the Senate. While she was a conservative jurist, siding with the conservative justices in the majority of cases before her, many of her decisions were praised for being both narrow and moderate.
Justice Ginsburg grew up in Brooklyn. She was originally known by her first name Joan, until her mother discovered that there were several other students in her class were also named Joan and suggested to her teacher that they call her by her second name, Ruth, to avoid confusion. Justice Ginsberg went on to receive her B.A. in government and went to Law School at Harvard and Columbia, earning her law degree from Columbia tied for first in her class. After university, she clerked in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, worked in Academia as a professor at Rutgers Law School and Columbia Law School, and co-founded the Women’s Rights Project at the ACLU and litigated or was otherwise involved in several important cases related to equal rights and gender discrimination, and served as a judge on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
President Bill Clinton nominated Ruth Bader Ginsburg for the Supreme Court in 1993. In her 27 years on the Supreme Court, Ginsburg established herself as a champion of women's rights and gender equality. Although thought of as a moderate when confirmed, Justice Ginsburg consistently voted with the liberal bloc of the court. She served until her passing in 2020.
Justice Sotomayor was born in the Bronx, New York City and decided early on in life that she wanted to pursue a legal career after being inspired by watching Perry Mason on television. Justice Sotomayor received her undergraduate degree from Princeton and her Law degree from Yale Law School.
The U.S. Senate confirmed Sonia Sotomayor as a Supreme Court Justice in 2009 to replace retiring Justice David Souter. Previously, Sotomayor worked as an assistant district attorney and in private practice before later serving as a district court judge in New York and on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She was the third woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Justice Sotomayor has made waves by standing up for civil rights and rights of defendants, including a scathing dissent in Utah v. Edward Joseph Strieff, Jr. in 2016.
Justice Kagan was born and raised in New York City where she was considered an outstanding student. She received her undergraduate degree in history from Princeton and her Law degree from Harvard.
Elena Kagan was confirmed as a Supreme Court justice in 2010, replacing John Paul Stevens. Before her confirmation, Kagan clerked in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit and then for U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall. She also worked in private practice for a time, taught at the University of Chicago Law School and Harvard Law School (where she also served as dean) and served in a variety of political appointments including White House associate counsel and U.S. Solicitor General, and Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and then Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council. She is the only current Supreme Court justice with no prior judicial experience.
Born in and raised in New Orleans, Justice Barrett received her undergraduate degree in English literature from Rhodes College and her J.D. from Notre Dame Law School where she ranked first in her class. After graduation she clerked in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and then for Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia. She then went on to private practice for a short time before transitioning to teaching for her alma mater, Notre Dame Law School for several years. In 2017, Barrett was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit by President Trump. During her tenure, she ruled consistently in favor of conservative policies. In 2020, Barrett was nominated for Justice Ginsburg’s vacant seat and was confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice in that same year.
Born in Washington D.C. and raised in the Miami, Florida area. In her high-school yearbook she was quoted as saying “I want to go into law and eventually have a judicial appointment." Justice Jackson received her undergraduate degree from Harvard in government and received her J.D. from Harvard Law School. After Law School, she clerked in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and the First Circuit Court of Appeals before clerking for Justice Breyer of the Supreme Court. She went on to work in private practice, as an assistance special counsel to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and as a public defender. In 2013 she was appointed as a District Court judge for the District of Columbia, and was elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 2021.
Ketanji Brown Jackson was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Biden and was confirmed in 2022, replacing Justice Stephen Breyer. As a judge, Jackson has been known for her detailed and methodical work. Judge Jackson is also the first former public defender to be confirmed to the Supreme Court.
