Justice O'Connor Charms Utah Women

None by KCPW

(KCPW News 10-30-06) Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor charmed thousands of Utah women today (yesterday) with a speech about her humble ranch beginnings and struggle to overcome the glass ceiling on her way to the country's highest court.

"I was impressed with the fact that she perservered, even with being offered a secretarial job with having a law degree," says Jane Hekking of Kaysville was in the audience of the Utah Women's Conference where O'Connor gave the keynote speech.

O'Connor retired from the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year after 25 years of service. She told the conference of her youth on the Lazy B Ranch in Arizona, her schooling in El Paso and her early entry into Stanford Law School. After graduating, she was unable to get even an interview for a job in a law firm because none would hire a woman.

She turned to the District Attorney's office and was an elected judge in Arizona. Several years into her career, she stopped work to care for her three children, and in 1981 was unanimously confirmed as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

She spoke at the conference by invitation of Senator Orrin Hatch.

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