The majesty of the law: reflections of a Supreme Court justice

Abstract

All of the chapters in this book, whose title references a frieze visible to the Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court as they hear oral arguments in the Court’s building in Washington, D.C., are drawn from the hundreds of speeches delivered by Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor during her first two decades on that Bench. The speeches passed through many versions, with much overlap, as the Justice kept them fresh for re-delivery, without publication, at many law schools, universities, and other civic institutions throughout the Nation. O’Connor asked the author of this abstract to review all of the speeches, group them according to logical topics, and coordinate and edit them for compilation into the present work. The chapters are arranged under six topics (each preceded by a short introduction): Part One: Life on the Court Part Two: A Bit of History Part Three: People Who Have Helped Shape the Court Part Four: Women and the Law Part Five: The Legal Profession and the Courts Part Six: The Rule of Law in the Twenty-first Century