Did You Know...

Arizona Cruising

In August 1979, Arizona State Judge Sandra Day O’Connor met Chief Justice Warren E. Burger during a houseboat excursion on Lake Powell. A top aide to Burger organized the trip to follow a judicial conference in Flagstaff, Arizona. The host, John Driggs, a former mayor of Phoenix, asked his friends John and Sandra O’Connor to join the party to help entertain the Chief Justice. The boat journeyed for three days and a budding friendship quickly formed between the Chief Justice and Judge O’Connor. The pair stayed up late each night discussing politics and the law. After this meeting, Chief Justice Burger became a dedicated supporter of O’Connor and helped raise her national legal profile. Two years later, when President Ronald Reagan looked to fulfill his campaign promise to appoint a woman to the high court, Judge O’Connor was on the short list. She ultimately joined Chief Justice Burger on the Supreme Court Bench in 1981, becoming the first female Justice.