Sandra Day O'Connor

Sandra Day O'Connor was the first female Supreme Court Justice. She was appointed by Ronald Reagan, and is considered by many conservatives to be a lapse of judgment on his part (Ann Coulter once called her "Reagan's biggest mistake" ). Despite their fears, she was moderate on everything, often providing the swing vote on an otherwise split court.

Prior to her post on the Supreme Court, she served as a judge in Arizona. She has since retired to care for her husband, who suffers from Alzheimer's, making her one of the few Justices who retired of their own will. A more recent example is Anthony Kennedy.

Twelve years after the fact, she admitted she regrets Bush v. Gore.

Why She Was Nominated
During the 1980 Presidential Campaign, Reagan promised to nominate a woman to the Supreme Court. Stu Spencer, Reagan's chief campaign strategist, has admitted that he only convinced Reagan to do so due to his lack of popularity with female voters--although he also admits that Reagan never had an issue with nominating a qualified woman to the Supreme Court.

This is not to say O'Conner had no other qualifications, but it's hard to see what else Reagan saw in her other than the fact that she's a woman. Reagan even wrote in his diaries that night that "Already the flack is starting & from my own supporters." Jerry Falwell said on the nomination that "every good Christian should be concerned" to which Barry Goldwater quipped "every good Christian should line up and kick Jerry Falwell's ass."