rehnquist and sandra o'connor were classmates at stanford law school. rehnquist fell under her spell, proposed marriage to her, which she turned down. she was such a catch that apparently three other men at stanford law school also proposed marriage to her. you would think this might be an awkward situation when in 1981, sandra day o'connor arrives on the court and there she is serving alongside chief justice rehnquist, who had once wanted to become engaged with her. one measure of both of their civility is that it was never an issue. they had a great friendship, had a great working relationship. this was one additional unique aspect of sandra o'connor's life. >> so fascinating. one record probably that has no threat of being broken in the future. >> i would guess so. >> michael, thanks. laura, your thoughts on this life of purpose. >> jose, i was struck by some of the anecdotes and storytelling from her biographer there, evan thomas, reflecting at how she really was sort of the social gather for her fellow justices on the court. he talked about how she

she could have been sandra day rehnquist could have been. >> could have been. she she she married somebody that they she didn't look back. and her husband was a wonderful person as well. and her family, of course, is quite a close knit family. and they still have a ranch in arizona. um, and she she let me just say in personal interviews with the president, i am sure was impressive because she not only is a brilliant thinker, but she's a careful, considerate thinker. she is not a rush to judgment person. she's not she was not ideologically polarized in any way. she was conservative. but she she was she fit what ronald reagan was looking for. >> can we talk about that, where she started as a conservative, but eventually as the court shifted, she sort of became a moderate, centrist voice. talk about that evolution. >> well, you know, those words have different meanings today than they had then. but, you know, she she was a she favored a right to life. but when it came to abolishing a right to abortion, she refused on multiple occasions to overrule roe versus wade.

a date i remember well as then john roberts, the current chief justice, replaced rehnquist. initially was to replace her. her resignation came on june 30th, 2005. she had three children and six grandchildren. she passed away in arizona. she was, as chief justice roberts said, a daughter of the american southwest. an incredible woman and sad news as we just learned that sandra day o'connor has died. shannon bream, our supreme court expert probably knew her very well. shannon, thank you for jumping on the phone with us as the news has just come in. >> shannon: she was a pioneer in so many ways. you reference her time out west and where she was from and it was such an interesting back drop to see her become the first female appointed to the supreme court. she often told the story about graduating from stanford and not being able to get a job. no law firm would hire her as a woman in the 50s and 60s. she struggled to make it in the legal profession. to think she came out of school, she found a roadblock to any kind of legal career and she decided to plow forward and ends up on t

when bill rehnquist was chief justice, he made them adhere to the time limits very strictly. >> you mentioned that you line up in order of vermonter -- seniority. seniority is important. as the years progressed and you were able to move your seat, does that make a difference in the way you approach the argument? >> it makes a difference in what part of the line you are in when we are all lined up, you change your position, it doesn't change anything about the argument. you still are what your one of the justices and some like to ask questions and some don't. we have justices who seldom ask questions and justices who always ask questions. >> what was your own approach of asking questions? >> i asked what i thought i needed to know. we read the briefs before the oral argument. we spend a lot of time preparing. we read the briefs filed by the parties. in this court unlike most courts around the world, they allow friend of the court briefs by other interested groups. and if it's a timely request and there is no objection, it's granted. and so we typically have a number of friend of the court brie

when bill rehnquist was chief justice, he made them adhere to the time limits very strictly. >> you mentioned that you line up in order of vermonter -- seniority. seniority is important. as the years progressed and you were able to move your seat, does that make a difference in the way you approach the argument? >> it makes a difference in what part of the line you are in when we are all lined up, you change your position, it doesn't change anything about the argument. you still are what your one of the justices and some like to ask questions and some don't. we have justices who seldom ask questions and justices who always ask questions. >> what was your own approach of asking questions? >> i asked what i thought i needed to know. we read the briefs before the oral argument. we spend a lot of time preparing. we read the briefs filed by the parties. in this court unlike most courts around the world, they allow friend of the court briefs by other interested groups. and if it's a timely request and there is no objection, it's granted. and so we typically have a number of friend of the court brie

when bill rehnquist was chief justice, he made them adhere to the time limits very strictly. >> you mentioned that you line up in order of vermonter -- seniority. seniority is important. as the years progressed and you were able to move your seat, does that make a difference in the way you approach the argument? >> it makes a difference in what part of the line you are in when we are all lined up, you change your position, it doesn't change anything about the argument. you still are what your one of the justices and some like to ask questions and some don't. we have justices who seldom ask questions and justices who always ask questions. >> what was your own approach of asking questions? >> i asked what i thought i needed to know. we read the briefs before the oral argument. we spend a lot of time preparing. we read the briefs filed by the parties. in this court unlike most courts around the world, they allow friend of the court briefs by other interested groups. and if it's a timely request and there is no objection, it's granted. and so we typically have a number of friend of the court brie

much more influence than justice rehnquist. she was the deciding vote on abortion rights. she was the deciding vote on affirmative action. she was the deciding vote on the separation of church and state. and she also wrote those opinions. she was just a master of bringing together a real con sen us is on the court. and that recalls a whole different supreme court than we have today. >> totally different. she was appointed by ronald reagan, who obviously, just talk about the politics not recognized as a republican party now, but wouldn't recognize the court now. largely the majority is by republican-appointed justices, who are far different from her. >> so different. and that's really it. did inch a little bit to the left over her tenure, but when you think of her as someone who i identified to the very end in january 2006 when she is retired as a conservative, she looks like a lefty. just think of what's gone of her legacy. the dobbs opinion in 2022 reversed what she wrote about the durability of roe v. wade. the affirmative action decision against harvard, just this year,

i think it would be prudent for the justice to recuse, just as justice rehnquist did those many yearsight also, cnn is reporting that special counsel smith might try to use data from electronic devices to show jurors when trump was using twitter on january 6th. do you believe that there is electronic data that, for example, the house january 6th committee was not able to get, that the special counsel might have access to, and that could be important in this case? >> well, i don't know. because as you just mentioned, we are not able to get some of that information. however, i think based on public reporting, it does appear that there was data that was delivered to the doj and it may be revealing. we will see. one thing that we do know is the then president did nothing to stop the riot. in fact, it was furthering his goals, which is to use violence to overturn the election. and the fact that he did nothing for so long while calling individuals during the riot, trying to get them to continue to object, this may buttress that. but we will see when the trial commences. >> yeah, we will ind

blackman, powell, burger and rehnquist. those were all nixon justices, almost half the supreme court, was a nixon supreme court. nixon thought he had a pretty good chance because he said i appointed those people and they should be loyal. what happened? the ruling came down late summer of 1974 and it was 8-0 unanimously, three nixon justices and the rest of them all voted that nixon should have to give up his tapes, which, of course, led to his resignation. one other thing from history, there was one recusal, william rehnquist, who was a justice at the time, said i shouldn't vote because i have a connection to this case and my connection is that i was appointed to this court by richard nixon after serving in his justice department. you see where i'm going. >> yes, i do. >> here we are 2023. is this going to be a partisan vote or are they going to interpret the 14th amendment exactly and also, will someone like clarence thomas, whose wife looks as if she was quite involved in the insurrection of 2021, will he recuse? >> what

she and rehnquist knew each other in law school and, in fact, what we later learned from diaries that were revealed that they actually -- that he actually had a huge crush on her and even proposed to her. she wrote, you know, movingly about the ranch, the western, her role as a rancher, her memoir, her children's books, i served on a board with her, at colonial williamsburg, she was just a remarkable person, and then in her retirement worked on several education, legal education historic, you know, education for all students. she was just devoted to america and was such a pioneer. let me say also, was a very big deal. i was assigned to the correspondence with nbc to go to reagan national airport by nbc, we followed her every step of the way. she dealt with that -- really she was just thrown into it. i can't overstate what -- how important it was to be the first woman and remember the way she dressed with the ruffle -- her ruffled neck collar outside of her gown. she did everything to show that she was the first woman. >> she broke that huge barrier here in the u.s. become k the first

number one was william rehnquist who came number one and he went on to become chief justice.itially worked for nothing for the city attorney san mateo and then earned her stipend, as she called it, and the rest was history. but i do think her perseverance and the discrimination she faced, all of the things that she had to do, she struggled for — to accomplish every step of the way. nothing came easy. but she always found a way to achieve her goals. in terms, then, of her time on the bench, what do you think stood out in terms of her opinions and her votes? well, as a member of the arizona state legislature, she was the senate majority leader and prior to that, was an assistant attorney general. i think having served in all three branches of government — one of the few justices who have had that experience — gave her a more balanced view of how the law works, from different perspectives. i do think it impacted her jurisprudence and just her pragmatic approach to things. she was persuaded by the facts, compassionate and also sought to find consensus. you mentioned there asserti

o'connor met her classmate and future supreme court chief justice william rehnquist, but she also methe had been an important member of the law review when she was at stanford. and she also met her husband famously through the law review, through late night editing, i guess after law school, o'connor had trouble finding a firm that would hire a woman. >> her first job was as a law clerk with then san mateo county district attorney keith sorensen in my office of 66 prosecutors, 42 are women and 24 are men. >> and every one of them knows that it was sandra day who punched the hole in that ceiling and made it where, you know what? we just to be a good prosecutor, you just need to be a good lawyer. >> o'connor ended up working for state government and eventually made her way to the high court in 1981. she made history as the nation's first woman to sit on the supreme court. >> she was a justice of very great integrity and also practical sense. >> on october 5th, 1981, o'connor's first day as a justice on the supreme court, five students from stanford proclaimed a day of celebration at the

she was near the top of her class, maybe one other person in her class, bill rehnquist, the former futurehief justice of the united states, maybe -- maybe he was smarter than her, but she was smarter than all the rest. yet, as you say -- and they asked her, how well can you type? that was the question, for a legal secretary job. the thing about her is she was never bitter. she just said, okay, went down the street to the d.a.'s office and said, i'll work for you. the guy said i have no money. she said i'll do it for free. he said i have no space. she said i'll work off of your secretary's desk. she did. and she worked her way up to the public sector, finally getting a state court of appeals job, but serving in the arizona legislature along the way, learning a lot, and, you know, when she was ready, she was ready. >> she was key in the land mark 1992 planned parenthood v. casey decision, which protected a woman's right to have an abortion before fetal liability. she was an appointee of ronald reagan. how unexpected was her role in that decision? >> well, somewhat, because harry blackman, w

. >> she wasn't to stanford in the same law class as william rehnquist.hey dated for a time and he even proposed. she turned him down but they stayed live long friends. upon graduation, no law firm would hire o'connor so she helped start her own. later becoming a powerful state lawmaker. then judge. >> president reagan today settled the question of when he would nominate a woman to the nation's highest court. >> she is truly a person for all seasons, possessing those unique qualities of temperament and pairness and devotion to the public good. >> in 1981, president ronal reagan nominated her to be the first woman on the supreme court. the senate confirmed her unanimously, 99-0. >> reporter: in 1988, she survived a breast cancer scare and returned to work ten days after surgery. her dry western wit was in tact. >> the worse was by public visibility, frankly. there was constant media coverage. how does she look? when is she going to step down and give the president another vacancy on the court? >> reporter: overtime she became known as a moderate conservati

. >> reporter: o'connor went to stanford in the same law class as future chief justice william rehnquistey dated for a time and he even proposed. she turned him down by they stayed lifelong friends. upon graduation no law firm would hire o'connor so she eventually helped start her own, later becoming a powerful state lawmaker then judge. >> president reagan today settled the question of when he would nominate a woman to the highest court. >> she is truly a person for all seasons, possessing unique qualities of temperament, fairness, intellectual capacity and devotion to the public good. >> reporter: in 1981 president ronald regular began nominated her to be the first woman. the senate confirmed her snamsly, 99-0. in 1988 the justice survived a breast cancer scare, and returned to work just ten days after surgery. her dry western wit remained intact. >> the worst was my public visibility, frankly. there was constant media coverage. how does she look? when is she going to step down and give the president another vacancy on the court? >> reporter: over time o'connor became known as a modera

i think it would be prudent for the justice to recuse, just -- judge rehnquist did those many years ago tonight also, cnn is reporting the special counsel smith might try to use data from electronic devices to show jurors when trump was using twitter on january 6th. and you believe that there is electronic data that, for example, the house january 6th committee was not able to get, that the special counsel might have access to, and that could be important in this case? >> well, i don't know. because as you just mentioned, we are not able to get some of that information. however, i think based on public reporting, it does appear that there was >> reporter: -- delivered to the doj and it may be revealing. we will see, one thing that we do know is the then president did nothing to stop the riot. in fact, it was furthering his ghouls, which is to use big island -- to use violence to overturn the election. and the fact that he did nothing for so long while calling individuals during the riot, trying to get them to continue, this may buttress that. but we will see when the trial commences. >>

. >> o'connor went to stanford for wil w law with chief justice william rehnquist.obody would hire her, and she was a power ful lawmaker and thn judge. >> and ronald reagan has decided to nominate sandra day on connor to the highest court. >> and now, for the fairness and intellectual capacity and goodness to the public good. >> reporter: in 1981, president ronald reagan nominated her to the highest court. and the senate confirmed her unanimously 99-0. in 1988, the justice survived a breast cancer scare, and she returned to work 10 days after surgery. the dry western with it. remained in tact. >> the worst was my public visibility, frankly. there was constant media coverage. how does she look? when is she going to step down and give the president another vacancy on the court. >> and she did not like the reference as the only woman on the court. >> we have equal voice, and i am no more powerful on this court for sure. >> reporter: and she was a trend setter. >> anybody who knows her, she makes up her own mind and not at all concerned about where anybody else is on th

with some of the alleged conspirators in this case, and he ought to recuse himself, as did justice rehnquist in the nixon tapes case. whether he will do this and do the right thing, pretty doubtful. but we are about to see something we've never seen, a former president of the united states perhaps going before the supreme court of the united states and then on trial while he seeks re-election. >> interesting. it raises an important question. his legal fights are actually fueling his campaign. if you look at these most recent polls nationally and in key battleground states, he's doing really well against biden. >> he is. this is the trump theme. "i'm the renegade." and what jack smith is doing here, he's seeking the kind of reckoning, let's kind of get to what all of this is about. there's a lot of tangled history there. i looks it up before coming over. on expedited hearing, it requires five votes, carl. carl's right, normally it's four. but expedited hearing, it's five votes. so will he get those votes? i mean, it's possible the court says, yeah, we'll hear it, then they do say, oh, this wa

nutrients dogs need— a date i remember well as then john roberts, the current chief justice, replaced rehnquistnation came on june 30th, 2005. she had three children and six grandchildren. she passed away in arizona. she was, as chief justice roberts said, a daughter of the american southwest. an incredible woman and sad news as we just learned that sandra day o'connor has died. shannon bream, our supreme court expert probably knew her very well. shannon, thank you for jumping on the phone with us as th

at stanford university and its law school, where she was a classmate of future chief justice william rehnquistd another law grad, john o'connor, and tried for a job practicing law. but it was the 1950's and more than 40 firms turned her down. eventually, after having children, she turned to politics, served in the state senate and became a judge for arizona's state court of appeals. then, in 1981, president ronald reagan nominated o'connor to the u.s. supreme court. >> the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you god. >> i do so swear. judy: she described herself as a judicial conservative, and won unanimous senate confirmation. but after joining the court, she came to be regarded as more moderate, and a swing vote. justice o'connor: some of the decisions are made by drawing very fine lines. and reasonable people can disagree on where those lines should be drawn. i have been there. and i know how challenging it is. it is not surprising at all that some cases are decided by drawing fine lines, with five people here and four people on the other side. judy: in 1992, justice o

been connected with sandra day o'connor in key moments, but what happened after that, chief william rehnquist passed away, and george w. bush switched roberts to the chief seat, and that is how he sits there as the chief justice of the united states, and samuel alito who is far more conservative of sandra day on nor succeeded her. >> and she was confirmed by the senate with 99-0? >> exactly right. 99-0. >> and as you and i remember, joe biden was the democratic senator from delaware, and the top democratic in the democratic hearings when they were having those hearings. >> and strom thurmond was promoting women to powerful positions that joe biden might not have at the time. but recipient concerns from the abortion activists to protect access to abortions, and she was willing to do it. >> i am old enough to remember, if it dealt with an issue that would come up before the supreme court, she dodged. >> that became the standard, and we have watched several different ones have come up, especially in the trump period, and many have dodged, and look at how contentious it was. and the grand standin

at stanford university and its law school, where she was a classmate of future chief justice william rehnquist another law grad, john o'connor, and tried for a job practicing law. but it was the 1950's and more than 40 firms turned her down. eventually, after having children, she turned to politics, served in the state senate and became a judge for arizona's state court of appeals. then, in 1981, president ronald reagan nominated o'connor to the u.s. supreme court. >> the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you god. >> i do so swear. judy: she described herself as a judicial conservative, and won unanimous senate confirmation. but after joining the court, she came to be regarded as more moderate and a swing vote. ,justice o'connor: some of the decisions are made by drawing very fine lines. and reasonable people can disagree on where those lines should be drawn. i have been there. and i know how challenging it is. it is not surprising at all that some cases are decided by drawing fine lines, with five people here and four people on the other side. judy: in 1992, justice o'

women at stanford law, and getting out of stanford law number three in a class that included william rehnquistm some remarkable reporting by her biographer, frank actually proposed marriage to her, to dear sandy in letters that were uncovered after his death. and just everything that she did as the first woman supreme court justice, mentoring other women, always defining the court for many many years because she was the centrist who could move to either side. some controversial decisions, some breakthrough decisions on affirmative action, for instance, which have subsequently been overturned, lamenting late in life that the things she had done had been undone by the current court, and just what she meant to women as the first woman to sit on that court, appointed by ronald reagan, of course. and in keeping with the campaign promise that he would put a woman on the court, and he did. >> sandra day o'connor, breaking the glass ceiling, paving the way for so many women. andrea mitchell, as always, my friend, thank you. we have justice sotomayor reflecting on this day. let's listen. >> today i kno

number 2 was future chief justice william rehnquist, though they became fast friends. another student named john o'connor courted sandra day. the 2 quickly became inseparable after meeting on an assignment at the stanford law review. we're top firms offered mister o'connor a job right out of law school. know firms would hire sandra misses o'connor turned down the chance to be a legal secretary. and instead work for free in the san mateo county attorney's office. she quickly earned respect and a promotion to become the deputy county attorney. their 3 children talked about what it was like growing up in the o'connor household. and in 1980, president ronald reagan fulfilled a campaign promise when he nominated o'connor to the nation's highest court. i will send to the senate. >> the nomination of judge sandra day o'connor of arizona court of appeals for confirmation as an associate justice of the united states supreme court. >> she filled the seat of retiring justice potter stewart by a unanimous vote. >> joy, with expression of support from the fed up. >> mississippi uni

from the time- i'm sorry, records obtained by propublica, including a confidential memo to william rehnquist. thomas made that complaint to iff stearns, a vocal conservative who told propublica that thomas' importance as a conservative was paramount and that republicans wanted to make sure he felt comfortable in his job and he was being paid properly. you would also understand how thomas' complaints might trigger the same level of concern with leonard leo, who invested so much in these people, and the outcomes they could deliver. congress never changed the law. but a couple years after those comments, thomas struck up a lucrative friendship with texas billionaire harlan crow, a friend of leo's. this helped thomas pay for his mother's house, luxury vacations, and tuition for a grand nephew. later in 2012, leo also directed thousands of dollars in fees to the justice's wife, who needs a raise with friends like these? joining me now is the coauthor of that report, published today in propublica, brett murphy. thank you for being here. this was a fascinating report that actually kind of answers a

make money as a justice led to a confidential memo in the year 2000 when then chief justice william rehnquists memo from a top judiciary official seeking guidance on what he termed a delicate matter. congress never gave justices a major raise or lifted the long standing ban on speaking fees. justice thomas did develop relationships with a set of wealthy benefactors who not only gave him large gifts but subsidized regular expenses. >> these relationships were basic living expenses, things like batteries for his rv, private school tuition. all of these things were paid for by friends and political donors. you know, which is something that other justices have not done to our knowledge. >> and since those wealthy donors have stepped in, justice thomas has apparently not raised the pay issue. >>> up next with israel facing mounting pressure to ease the intensity of its fighting in gaza and take on a more targeted approach, will benjamin netanyahu listen. >>> plus, the deciders, on the ground insights from crucial voting blocs in several bellwether counties of the 2024 race, stay right there. ♪ feb

gore was a 5-4 decision that ruled that the chief justice rehnquist essentially said that the floridame court in a case, which is ordering a recount of the undervote did not have the authority to do that. but it was one of the most divisive cases 5-4 in history. that's why turley says hopefully, because this clause is seeking to disqualify him because of a crime he has not engaged in, charged with, convicted of, which is insurrection, they will be 9-0. one sided to put it to bed. otherwise, you will continue to see more and more cases. they are throwing darts at the wall if you will. which is why there is 35 similar pieces of legislation like the one playing out in colorado. >> so true. if you play that out not unanimous by the supreme court. then you know democrats are always going to say it's just because it's a g.o.p., it's a republican controlled supreme court. and donald trump shouldn't have been on the ballot in any of these states. >> joey: in effect, last word on this here, the colorado supreme court has taken upon itself to convict donald trump of insurrection by doing. this.

number 2 was future chief justice william rehnquist, though they became fast friends. another student named john o'connor courted sandra day. the 2 quickly became inseparable after meeting on an assignment at the stanford law review. we're top firms offered mister o'connor a job right out of law school. know firms would hire sandra misses o'connor turned down the chance to be a legal secretary. and instead work for free in the san mateo county attorney's office. she quickly earned respect and a promotion to become the deputy county attorney. their 3 children talked about what it was like growing up in the o'connor household. and in 1980, president ronald reagan fulfilled a campaign promise when he nominated o'connor to the nation's highest court. i will send to the senate. >> the nomination of judge sandra day o'connor of arizona court of appeals for confirmation as an associate justice of the united states supreme court. >> she filled the seat of retiring justice potter stewart by a unanimous vote. >> joy, with expression of support from the fed up. >> mississippi uni

job in the receptionist position in the law firm out there in california, and going to school with rehnquistt was later revealed, maybe in your book -- >> it was. >> in your book about the personal relationship they had and his having a crush on her, proposing to her. >> yeah. she was obviously tough and confident and modest all at once. one thing about her, she knew not to pick stupid fights. she stayed above petty arguments. when one of her clerks would write in a zinger into an opinion to get back at another justice or retort against, say, justice scalia, she would cross it out. she was smart about the fights she picked. she knew when to stand up for herself and for her causes, but also not to get into these ego classes that are so common today. >> linda webster, you knew her so well. went fishing with her. you knew her as an outdoorswoman. she was a woman's woman. as tough as she could be. she stood up for things. she could be -- if you could excuse the expression -- all girl. >> could be. quite a lady. she was my fishing buddy, first and foremost as evan wrote so beautifully in his book

o'connor met her classmate and future supreme court chief justice william rehnquist. she also met her husband. >> she had been an important member of the law review when she was at stanford, and she also met her husband famously through the law review, through late night editing, i guess after law school. >> o'connor had trouble finding a firm that would hire a woman. her first job was as a law clerk with then san mateo county district attorney keith sorensen . in my office of 66 prosecutors, 42 are women and 24 are men. >> and every one of them knows that it was sandra day who punched the hole in that ceiling and made it where, you know what ? we just to be a good prosecutor, you just need to be a good lawyer. >> o'connor ended up working for state government and eventually made her way to the high court. in 1981, she made history as the nation's first woman to sit on the supreme court. >> she was a justice of very great integrity and also practical sense. >> on october 5th, 1981, o'connor's first day as a justice on the supreme court, five students from stanford pro

number 2 was future chief justice william rehnquist, though they became fast friends. another student named john o'connor courted sandra day. the 2 quickly became inseparable after meeting on an assignment at the stanford law review. we're top firms offered mister o'connor a job right out of law school. know firms would hire sandra misses o'connor turned down the chance to be a legal secretary. and instead work for free in the san mateo county attorney's office. she quickly earned respect and a promotion to become the deputy county attorney. their 3 children talked about what it was like growing up in the o'connor household. and in 1980, president ronald reagan fulfilled a campaign promise when he nominated o'connor to the nation's highest court. i will send to the senate. >> the nomination of judge sandra day o'connor of arizona court of appeals for confirmation as an associate justice of the united states supreme court. >> she filled the seat of retiring justice potter stewart by a unanimous vote. >> joy, with expression of support from the fed up. >> mississippi uni

lunch with her about the fact that when she got out of school, number 200 of course, behind william rehnquist, who became the ultimate chief and she put in applications everywhere in the story that she told me that i will never forget was and i conveyed to was getting reject letters and she met with and he said, you know, i'm very impressed you. after meeting with what would you like to do with our firm? and she goes off course. i'd like to be a lawyer. and the answer she got was from this man was there will never be women in the law. i tell that story to the people in my office because today the legacy that sandra day o'connor, the left our little office is. today i've got 66 prosecutors in san mateo county da's office. you know what? 42 of them are women and 20 format and the women know that what they have today was in large part based on people like sandra day o'connor who broke the ceiling. and to me, i will never forget and nobody gets to be employed and the da's office and met with city without hearing that story for me. >> wow. that's incredible history right there and love hearing abo

she graduated first in her class at stanford, and eventual chief justice rehnquist was in the first class. she was first in her class, couldn't get a job as a lawyer in california, took a job as a law clerk at a receptionist table in a law firm, so she could be close to the law. >> i love the advice and that story, andrea, that you just retold. don't we all need that sometimes? that type of advice, just do it, and the advice that was given to rbg, i know was a close friend of yours, the late justice, the g.o.a.t., as many refer to her as well. and the courage it takes for sandra day o'connor to be the first, to be a first. >> absolutely. >> is unbelievable to even think about, and the path that she has paved for so many women behind her. andrea mitchell, as always, we are thankful for you. >> thank you. >>> still to come, the cease fire is over, explosions in gaza and a call for another truce. we're live in tel aviv in just 60 seconds. we'll be right back. econds we'll be right back. (christina) with verizon business unlimited, i get 5g, truly unlimited data, and unlimited hotspot data. s

uh- o'connor met her classmate and future supreme court chief justice william rehnquist. she also met her husband. she had been an important member of the law review when she was at stanford, and she also met her husband famously through the law review, through late night editing, i guess after law school. o'connor had trouble finding a firm that would hire a woman for her first job was as a law clerk with then san mateo county district attorney keith sorensen. in my office of 66 prosecutors, 42 are women and 24 are men. >> and every one of them knows that it was sandra day who punched the hole in that ceiling and made it where, you know what? we just to be a good prosecutor, you just need to be a good lawyer. >> o'connor ended up working for state government and eventually made her way to the high court. in 1981, she made history as the nation's first woman to sit on the supreme court. >> she was a justice of very great integrity and also practical sense on october 5th, 1981, o'connor's first day as a justice on the supreme court, five students from stanford proclaimed a

o'connor met her classmate and future supreme court chief justice william rehnquist. she also met her husband. she had been an important member of the law review when she was at stanford, and she also met her husband and famously, through the law review , through late night editing, i guess, after law school. o'connor had trouble finding a firm that would hire a woman. her first job was as a law clerk with then san mateo county district attorney keith sorensen . >> in my office of 66, prosecutor shooters, 42 are women and 24 are men. and every one of them knows that it was sandra day who punched the hole in that ceiling and made it where, you know what? we just to be a good prosecutor, you just need to be a good lawyer. >> o'connor ended up working for state governor hunt and eventually made her way to the high court in 1981. she made history as the nation's first woman to sit on the supreme court. >> she was a justice of very great integrity and also practical sense. >> on october 5th, 1981, o'connor's first day as a justice on the supreme court, five students from s

additionally a top judicial official wrote to then chief justice william rehnquist about thomas's concernsncing it as a delicate matter. and thomas talked privately about removing the ban on justices making money from speeches. propublica puts this all into context. "thomas was talking about his finances in a crucial period in his tenure just as he was developing his relationships with a set of wealthy benefactors. congress never lifted the ban on speaking fees or gave the justices a major raise, b in the years that followed, as propublic bea has reported, thomas accepted a stream of gifts from friends and acquaintances that appeared to be unparalleled in theodern history of the supreme court. some defrayed living expenses large and small. private school tuition, vehicle batteries, tires. other gifts froa coterie of ultra rich men supplemented his lifestyle such as free international vacations on the private jet and superyacht of dallas real estate billionaire harlan crow, end quote. neither thomas nor crow has responded to propublica's questions about the story. and that's where we start

because in the first place already serving on the court was one of my classmates from law school, william rehnquistad been a good friend. he lived in arizona. i knew his wife as an undergraduate at stanford. they were personal friends of my husband and mine and it just was inconceivable to me that we will be asked to serve on the court at the same time. there are many states that to this day have never had anyone -- any woman serve on this court, so -- anyone serve on this court. for the small state of arizona to have two the same time was unimaginable to me. when i was interviewed by the cabinet members in the reagan administration, i did not believe for a minute i would be asked to serve. i went back to arizona after those interviews and said to my husband how interesting it was to visit washington, d.c. and to me to the people around the president and the president himself and talk to him but i said, thank goodness i do not have to go do that job. i did not want it. i was not sure i could do the job well enough to justify trying. i have often said it is wonderful to be the first to do something,

i think 8-0 because rehnquist couldn't take part in the proceedings.ight down idealogical lines like we saw in 2000. >> you're right, joe. the supreme court ruling on the tapes of richard nixon that he had to turn them over was a clear-cut statement. he did not have private possession of those tapes. it was a clear-cut decision by the republican leadership. they went to the white house and said to the press -- president, you have to leave when that decision was made. there was a clarity there. the country spoke in watergate. i mean, nixon wasn't the worst president we ever had, but he was wrong, and he broke the law and he covered up and he basically engaged in leading the coverup. but the country agreed. we were happy. 5-4 decisions are not happy. we had a 5-4 decision on the al gore case. al gore took it like a man and gave a concession speech right for everybody to see. he gave it up, like a great american. he went onto fight for climate. today i don't think we're going to see that clarity. i think judge roberts is not going to go with the crowd. i