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Hard to believe how the time's flown, but six years ago tonight, John Cardinal O'Connor passed from our midst much too soon. How quickly we forget. In his final years, as he wound down his ministry as archbishop of New York, I was immeasurably blessed to know the cardinal, to meet up with him every so often, and to have received a good bit of his wisdom, humor and the lessons he had picked up along the way. His kindness to a young upstart was a gift which remains alive with me constantly. At sunset on 3 May 2000,...

 The stars must have been aligned that January morning in 1955 when John G. Roberts Jr. was born in Buffalo, N.Y., because almost everything thereafter led him straight to the Supreme Court of the U.S. He graduated from Harvard College, then excelled at Harvard Law School as well as in his work at the U.S. Attorney General's office. It was there that our paths first crossed, for he helped prepare briefing papers for my confirmation hearings to the Supreme Court in 1981. He was later a successful litigator and partner at the Washington firm of Hogan & Hartson. He argued...

Last night the President and First Lady held a retirement dinner in honor of Justice O Connor at the White House. Today the President delivered remarks to the Small Business Week Conference at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington. Today was Andy Card's last day at the White House. Later in the day the Presdent departed from the White House to spend the Easter weekend with his family at Camp David. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay at the State Department Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is concerned about the state of politics in Washington. Even with a script in front of her about the sacrifices America's Founding Fathers made to write a fledgling country's Constitution, the 76-year-old justice took the opportunity Friday in Salt Lake City to lament current events - including the war in Iraq and the muddled separation of powers in the nation's capital, where the president, Congress and the courts attempt to restrain each other. "We as a nation face many challenges," O'Connor said. "I'm worried about the stability of the constitutional system of...

WILLIAMSBURG - Sandra Day O'Connor said yesterday that she was sad that a woman was not chosen to fill the U.S. Supreme Court seat opened by her retirement. "I was disappointed to see the women on the Supreme Court drop by 50 percent," O'Connor told an audience of more than 700 students at the College of William and Mary.

WILLIAMSBURG (AP) -- Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor traded judge's robes for an academic gown yesterday as she was installed in the honorary post of chancellor of the College of William & Mary. < snip > Mrs. O'Connor succeeds former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, who was appointed in 2000 to replace former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. William & Mary was chartered in 1693 by King William III and Queen Mary II. The chancellor serves as an adviser to the president and an advocate for the school and meets occasionally with students and faculty. Until...

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York announced plans yesterday for the most sweeping reorganization in its history of more than 150 years, recommending the closing of 31 parishes and 14 schools throughout the metropolitan region.At the same time, the archdiocese recommended creating five new parishes in Staten Island, Orange County and Dutchess County and constructing several new church buildings, mostly in northern Westchester County, Rockland County and Dutchess County, where many Catholics who have left the city have relocated.The closings would hit the archdiocese the hardest in its southern parts — the Bronx, Staten Island, Manhattan, Yonkers and central...

Speeches by Supreme Court justices are usually sleepy civics lessons studded with references to the Federalist Papers and the majesty of the law. That seems to be changing. This month, former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor told an audience at Georgetown University that a judiciary afraid to stand up to elected officials can lead to dictatorship. Last month, speaking in South Africa, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said that the courts were a safeguard "against oppressive government and stirred-up majorities." ....... The recent speeches, said Kermit L. Hall, the editor of "The Oxford Companion to the United States Supreme Court," may be...

<p>WASHINGTON – Now that she's left the Supreme Court, Sandra Day O'Connor has a few things to get off her chest. One of the first was to warn that the nation could slide into dictatorship if harsh critiques of the judiciary – from the likes of Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Rep. Tom DeLay – go unanswered.</p>

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor used a speech at Georgetown University to attack pro-life lawmakers who sided with Terri Schiavo's parents in their efforts to prevent their daughter's euthanasia death. She claimed a Congressional effort to have federal courts review the case was a first step towards a dictatorship. O'Connor, who backs abortion, announced her retirement last year and was recently replaced by federal appeals court judge Samuel Alito, who pro-life advocates hope will be more open to upholding laws that protect the right to life. "We must be ever-vigilant against those who would...

Former top judge says US risks edging near to dictatorship · Sandra Day O'Connor warns of rightwing attacks · Lawyers 'must speak up' to protect judiciary Julian Borger in Washington Monday March 13, 2006 The Guardian (UK) Sandra Day O'Connor, a Republican-appointed judge who retired last month after 24 years on the supreme court, has said the US is in danger of edging towards dictatorship if the party's rightwingers continue to attack the judiciary. In a strongly worded speech at Georgetown University, reported by National Public Radio and the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, Ms O'Connor took aim at Republican leaders...

O'Connor May Sit on Bench Again By Tony Mauro Legal Times March 13, 2006 The next stage of retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's public life began taking shape last week: a combination of speaking out, receiving accolades and even, she hinted, sitting as a judge again. In a talk Thursday at Georgetown University Law Center, she demurred when it was suggested she could be more candid now that she's no longer a justice: "I've retired, but I'm still a federal judge." Retired justices can sit by designation on any federal court, but O'Connor did not indicate where she hopes to...

Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor showed Thursday that she's not absent from judicial issues. During a speech in Washington, she said Republican leaders' attacks on the courts threaten the constitutional freedoms of Americans.So now the Supreme Court can't be criticized. I hate judges...

(...) Third party sources are now telling me that the John Paul Stevens rumor is true and that the White House is now planning for a third vacancy, but not until the end of the year [2005]. Third party sources, who I treat as credible, say that Stevens has begun taking actions in his personal life to make arrangements for personal affairs. It is presumed that Stevens is taking steps to retire. A separate third party source tells me that Ginsberg is not expected to retire, as her health is fine. Stevens has reportedly sent signals that he will retire...

The Supreme Court can sometimes seem like an unsentimental place, and Monday was one of those times. It was probably Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's final day on the bench after 25 years on the Court, yet no one paused to note that fact. No final huzzahs, no commendations from her colleagues, nothing. Two justices, John Paul Stevens, and Antonin Scalia, were not even on the bench for the occasion. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who will soon become the only woman left on the high court, seemed more forlorn than usual, and O'Connor herself seemed somber. But other than that it...

I have been watching the Judicial Committee and collateral news events for a long time. I am struck by the continued use of the term "Swing Vote"! Now, I am an attorney but certainly not an expert on the supremes. My Question is, WHAT IS A SWING VOTE? Do the Justices vote in order of senority? No, that would make Souter or Ginsburg the final vote. Did the Court decide to make SDO'C wait until the adults voted before allowing her to speak out? Is she some revered mental wiz that is, by virtue of her supreme knowledge, allowed to...

Most analysts predict (and I agree) that if confirmed, Judge Samuel Alito will be more conservative than Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, whom he would succeed on the Supreme Court. That's why O'Connor was practically begged to stay on by liberal Democratic senators such as Barbara Boxer of California and Patrick Leahy of Vermont; moderate Republican senators such as Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine; and liberal groups such as the National Organization for Women. Alito's critics have ignored evidence that his 15 years of precedent-respecting work as a judge tell more about him than...

The taking of people’s property by eminent domain in order to sell it to private developers is getting totally out of hand, and crying for justice. After the infamous Kelo vs. New London case was decided in favor of developers by the liberal majority on the Supreme Court, there was a spate of stories about how the US Congress and various states were enacting laws to counter this abysmal (and plainly unconstitutional) decision. It is becoming clear, however, that people’s rights (especially poor people) are being trampled on all over the country, and the only way to right this wrong...

Blame GOP 'Leadership' for Renegade Specter by Thomas Sowell Posted Nov 8, 2005 The recent announcement by Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter that confirmation hearings on Judge Samuel Alito have been postponed until January was only the latest in a series of painful examples of what happens when Senate Republicans wimp out. Senator Specter did not wimp out. The Senate Republican “leadership” wimped out when they made him chairman of the Judiciary Committee after he had fired a shot across the bow of his own President, right after the election, publicly warning President Bush not to nominate anyone to...

Judge O'Conlito? Talking head hottie Flavia Colgan, a Democratic strategist and former aide to Pennsylvania's Lt. Governor (remember her?), warns that both sides will be disappointed with Judge Samuel Alito if he's confirmed to the Supreme Court. From her HuffPo piece: The question people have to ask is what constitutes a link that is so invalid that it renders the whole chain weak and un-useful. The left needs to determine whether they are willing to sink a candidate for the court that has expressed pro-choice legal opinions three out of four times, because of the one time he did not....