Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor diagnosed with 'beginning stages of dementia'

'Nothing has diminished my gratitude and deep appreciation for the countless blessings of my life,' the former justice writes

Chris Riotta
New York
Tuesday 23 October 2018 16:26 BST
Comments
US Senate confirms Brett Kavanaugh as Supreme Court judge

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the US Supreme Court, has been diagnosed with the "beginning stages of dementia," the retired justice revealed in a letter Tuesday.

The 88-year-old former justice said she "probably" has Alzheimer's disease, a form of dementia that develops over time and causes issues with memory and behaviour.

"I will continue living in Phoenix, Arizona surrounded by dear friends and family," she wrote. "While the final chapter of my life with dementia may be trying, nothing has diminished my gratitude and deep appreciation for the countless blessings of my life."

Ms O'Connor’s announcement of her diagnosis came a day after a story by the Associated Press that she had stepped back from public life and in which her son Jay O’Connor said that his mother had begun to have challenges with her short term memory.

He also said that hip issues have meant she now primarily uses a wheelchair and stays close to her home in Phoenix. Ms O’Connor last spoke in public more than two years ago.

The retired justice was a state court judge before being nominated to the Supreme Court in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan, who fulfilled a campaign promise by nominating a woman to the Supreme Court. She graduated third in her class from Stanford Law School and was the first woman to lead the Arizona state senate.

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

Ms O’Connor was 51 when she was unanimously confirmed to the high court. On the Supreme Court, her votes were key in cases about abortion, affirmative action and campaign finance as well as the Bush v. Gore decision effectively settling the 2000 election in George W. Bush’s favour.

"As a young cowgirl from the Arizona desert, I never could have imagined that one day I would become the first woman justice on the U.S. Supreme Court," she wrote on Tuesday.

She was 75 when she announced her retirement from the court in 2005. It was a decision influenced by the decline in the health of her husband, John O’Connor III, who himself had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement that he was "saddened to learn" that O’Connor "faces the challenge of dementia."

"Although she has announced that she is withdrawing from public life, no illness or condition can take away the inspiration she provides for those who will follow the many paths she has blazed," he wrote.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in