Retirement opens the first vacancy in Supreme Court in over 11 years
July 5, 2005
Dennis Courtland Hayes, Interim President and CEO, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is urging the U.S. Senate to exercise all due diligence in scrutinizing proposed nominees in ensuring that the candidate reflect the diversity of America when seeking a replacement for retiring Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
"The NAACP today, in commending Justice Sandra Day O'Connor for her consistent approach in establishing legal precedents in the areas of affirmative action, criminal justice and a person's right to privacy, urges the Administration to select a candidate possessing a commitment to true justice and equality for all people regardless of their race or economic status," said Hayes.
NAACP Director of Washington Bureau Hilary Shelton said: "The NAACP urges the President to include a broad spectrum of political diversity on both sides of the aisle, as well as consultation with national grass-roots based organizations such as the NAACP in his efforts to choose someone who will uphold and respect civil rights and civil liberties for all Americans."
O'Connor has been known to be a racial moderate since her early days in Arizona. In the 60's, while assistant state attorney general, she was assigned to represent a state agency accused by the Phoenix branch of the NAACP of denying jobs to a group of black women who had passed a state civil service test. O'Connor concluded the commissioner was capricious toward the women and worked out a compromise rather than litigate her client's questionable behavior.
President Reagan nominated O'Connor in 1981 to the U.S. Supreme Court, where she became the first woman justice.
O'Connor, 75, plans to leave before the start of the court's next term in October, or whenever the Senate confirms her successor.
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