and yet still have a strong defense. >> for more information on book tv recent visit to mesa, ariz., and the many other cities visited by our local content vehicles cut to c-span.org / local content. >> and ellen book tv, former supreme court justice presents the history of i court and profiles several of its former justices. [applause] >> thank you. now, i am sitting down. come on. that's good. hobbling around. can you hear? yes. no? no. this need to be turned on? what's the matter?

right into it. oh, dear. [laughter] now in new you're better? i actually did not get an offer for my first job, so let's just get the introduction chased a little bit. i happily attended stanford law school. in the process i met my husband to become a john o'connor. he was a year behind me in law school. we decided to get married, and i graduated from law school. we both like to eat, and that meant one of those was going to have to work. since i was out of law school of thought, oh, no problem getting a job. there were at least 40 notices on stanford's bulletin board at the law school from law firms in california saying, stanford law graduates, we have this -- we would be happy to talk to you

about job opportunities. give us a call. and there were 40 different messages from different law firms in california on above board. so i called every one of those notices. not a single one would even give me an interview. i said why. they said, we don't hire women. and that was the way it was. no, i got out of law school, i guess, but 1952. isn't that amazing? there would not even talk. and i really did need to get a job. so i heard that the county attorney in san mateo county, california, the county seat is in redwood city, they once had a woman lawyer on the staff. i thought, that is encouraging. i will go see him. i made the public to see him. in california they elect the attorney.

so they're always glad vendors, and he gave me an appointment to see him. i met him. very nice, very agreeable. he said he had to rain become an element of staff of one time and she did well and he would be happy to have another. i had a good resonate. i would be fine, but the problem he had was that he got his money from the county board of supervisors and he got only so much money per year in he had spent his money and had no more income for the year, so he was unable to hire anybody else. he was so sorry because he felt probably i could be hired, but not without any money. and then he said also, i will show you around the office command he did. he said, as you will see, i don't have a vacant office to put another deputy. so, i had to figure something out. and so i said, welcome i understand. i said to liner you don't have any money right not to hire

anybody, but i will work for you for nothing until such time as the supervisors give you a little more money. i said to my will do that. well, that kind of took his breath away. and then i said, and i met your secretary. very nice. there is room in her office to put a second desk if she would not object. and that was my first job as a lawyer. no pay, and i'd put my desk in with the secretary. but i loved my job. it was so interesting. i'd just like everything i got to do. it was very exciting for me commence a that is what i did. indeed worked out fine. and i don't remember know how long i was there before he managed to find a little money in his account with the county. and until, i think, somebody, one of the deputies must have

left for another job and it opened an office. so everything turned out all right, but it was pretty tough getting that first job. and i felt sorry for the other women who were in law school and getting out and looking for work because there was no real opportunity for women lawyers at that time. i am reading the new book out by what's her name? [laughter] yes. i have been reading that. and it is a good story. you better read it, too. but it is amazing how things have changed. i am very glad that i was able to be a little bit of that change in america for women. and i was working happily along

in my jobs in arizona. i was sitting -- i have become a judge on the court of appeals. i was in my office one afternoon , and the telephone rang. i answered in the upper said, this is the white house calling. is justice o'connor there. i was a justice at that point. and i said to my yes. and they said, welcoming it is the president calling. would you put her on. i said, this is she. hello. and it was ronald reagan on the phone. he said, sandra -- how about that. first name basis. [laughter] i said, yes, mr. president. he said, but like to announce your nomination tomorrow for the supreme court. is that okay with you? now that is "run "what happened.

in the kind of colton said well, yes, mr. president. i think it is. and so that is what happened. he had sent some three people from the attorney general's office out to arizona to check on my record. i had served in some capacity of the other in all three branches of the arizona state government and the preceding years. of course to my had left some kind of a track record behind. i think the president had sent people out to uncover press coverage of anything that i had been involved with and to look at papers in connection with my record. i guess they had not uncovered anything that looks scary. so he decided to do that. i was at home the day they

wanted to come out and really talk to me. and my husband and i have built a sun-tried adobe house in the phoenix area when we moved there in 1957. now coming up was a challenge because you can buy byrd adobe's. but in this country today it is very hard to go by sun-dried of peace. those are the end of the bricks that somebody has made and then tried them in a frame in the sun until they are dry and fairly firm. and that is what we wanted to use. and i met a man who lived on cal track road in scottsdale. he built sun-dried adobe houses, and he could tell us how to get some sun-tried adobe, so we followed his advice. we found a starving and an architect who was willing to design a house, even if it was

filled the -- even if it was adobe. until you have seen and touched it, you probably can appreciate why i liked some much. looks good, it feels good committed is wonderful in arizona sunshine. it really is. so that is what we used to bill the house. i loved it very much. and when the president made his call and i agreed to come back to washington d.c. we learned that housing prices in d.c. are very high. so we had to sell a little sun-dried adobe house and raise a little bit of money so that we could get something to live in in d.c. we did. and that was painful to have that happen. and i am -- an interesting thing has happened since, and i am wondering from my topic, but it is kind of interesting to hear.

we have formed, now, in arizona, a program using our old else, and so it has been purchased back by a nonprofit note organization to support the o'connor house, and we use it as a place where civil talk leads to a civic action. and i like that. because in the years -- [applause] it is what we need a lot more of congress is that. state legislatures it. and when i have that house, when my husband and i were living in it and i was a legislative leader, i would cut some mexican food, some times chalupas are something, stay hot on a low border of the stove. i would buy some cold beer, and

then i would invite the key people on both sides of the aisle in the legislature and just have them come over to have of what to eat in the beer. and when you sit around like that and speak casually in a friendly manner, as you would with your own friends or acquaintances at your own house, you just feel better about killing people and relating to the command we were able to make friends enough that we could solve the state's problems. it worked. and that is what i would like to see more of. at present we are using the house to get legislators together in see if they cannot get acquainted with each other and solve some of arizona's problems. i think it is working. so that is the effort. and what i felt when i was in my years at the court before i

retired was that we were failing to teach young people in this country anything about our government operates, however runs. two-thirds of high-school graduates today score below proficiency on any kind of civics test. only one-third of americans can name the three branches of government, let alone say what they do. i mean can imagine that? only 27 percent can identify the purpose of the u.s. constitution it is right there in the title. now, -- [laughter] less than one-fifth of high-school seniors can explain how psittacism -- citizen participation helps democracy. only 22 percent of eighth

graders can name any purpose meant by the u.s. supreme court. now, that is very painful for me. [laughter] among 14,000 seniors in college, which participated in a survey, the average score on the civics exams was just barely over 50 percent. that is enough. now, this lack of knowledge does lead to a different -- disengagement. about half of the 14-year-old in the united states say that their political attitude is indifferent or eliminated. they have no interest. and i just think that we have to reverse that. we ought to care about that in this country. when our constitution was adopted and we did not have public schools in america. that came later. in fact commit was about 30

years after the constitution was adopted that people began to say, we need some schools in this country to teach the and people how this new government of ours works. how it is supposed to work, how they are part of it. well, they were right. we did need to educate the young people. and that is what is started public schools. and sedate we are having public schools that no longer teach civics. they do not require it fresco graduation, glasses and civics. they are barely talk. i don't know about you, but when i went to school i went to grade school and high-school in el paso, texas. i grew up our ranch. it was too far from town to go to school, and my parents sent me off to a passover where i have maternal grandparents living. and so i took my schooling there.

we have six all the time. i got sick and tired of it cut its how you the truth. but i think that is a lot better than having none. and so i was very concerned at the time when i announced my retirement about the lack of any nationwide attention to the teaching of civics. and so i decided that in my retirement that i would have time to do a little volunteer work. maybe i could get started a plan to teach civics. and so i started something that we call i-civics. we have ipads and ipod and i everything. i taught civics would be good, and it is. and we got it going. and what i did was a -- assemble the most wonderful group of teachers who really know the subjects and what these young

people, particularly in mills school of the first year in high-school should know about six. and so with their help and with the help of some experts in riding up exams and things we put together the i-6 website. ammo we do is create games on the website. i want you to look at it. do not forget it. i will remind you what it is again so that you can write it down. we have games on it that began people played. they're fun to play. we have now i think about 19 out it is great fun. the young people will get on it and stay on in all night and tell their parents say to my go to bed. turn that off. go to bed. and it is terrific. teachers to have started using it in school find that it is very satisfactory.

the main problem today is that most of the schools do not use civics any more as a subject to be taught to read it makes it harder for the teachers to find time to teach civics, but that has been my major effort since stepping down from the court, to start and continue and expand the teaching of i civics. we now have a minimum of 30,000 yen people a day who are plugged and. i want a lot more than that. that is just a start. but it is extremely effective. they -- failure university in texas to the study. they took the program and put it in three or four schools in the area in texas someone near baler . elected in place for awhile and then tested the students. baylor came back with not a good

review, of rave review. they said it is incredible. really is effective. and so that is my major effort now. it is selling a spending my time as a retired justice, except that i also set occasionally with some of the federal courts of appeal. now, you know the federal courts consist of district courts where trials in several cases are tried and then if the loser appeals, the appeal goes to a federal court of appeals, and we have a number of federal circuit courts of appeal. they're scattered around the country. and i volunteered to sit with some of those courts of appeal. and then, if you lose their you're only application for relief is with the u.s. supreme court. and their grant of jurisdiction is discretionary with the court and not too many cases are granted. so that is how the system works

today. and i volunteer periodically to sit on one of the federal courts of appeal and hear a number of cases for two or three days. and today i went to the supreme court at myself. i was here. i heard a case argued, and it just happens to be a case which i had heard as a volunteer judge when i sat on the ninth circuit some months back and heard that case and we rendered a decision and the losers did not like the result and filed a petition with the u.s. supreme court which took the case, and it was argued today. so i had the pleasure of sitting in the court room and listening to the lawyers argue about the case that i have participated in deciding some months before at the court of appeals level, so that was kind of fun to do, have to say.

and i think what we have done tonight is to see if you did not have various questions that you thought you might like me to talk about. we will try some of them. if they don't go so well i will go back and abandoned those. [laughter] [applause] >> well, justice, i have questions year. >> like having to turn my neck. ever here. [laughter] >> as you say, your honor. seven and asked you not to interrupt me when i'm asking these questions. can you describe what you were thinking or feeling, the first

example of last time you walked to the kern to take your place on the floor? >> well, the first time was pretty scary. the last time, you're used to it. but the first time was really amazing. and i could not believe that i was, in fact, now sitting as a member of the u.s. supreme court , a court that had never before had a woman its panel of judges. and that was a very special event for the court, and i think to make a difference. and i am sitting in the court today, as i do today and look up at that, i see three women sitting there. [applause]

there are also six men, but the overall effect is a lot better. okay. >> they give me my own microphone. other any traditions are rituals that go on behind the scenes at the court that you are fond of? >> oh, yes. i will start with the first. it is the practice of the court when you meet each state to go on the bench or to sit and discuss cases. for each justice to shake hands with every other justice. now, that is really special. i don't know how you feel about it, but to shake hands with someone. now come on over here. [laughter] you know, okay. to shake hands with someone is meaningful. it really is. you touch their hand and you shake. it is much more effective than to work together as a court can

decide the cases. and that was just marvelous, on that first day. come back. [laughter] one of the justices was a justice. [laughter] he was a former major athletes. and he took my hand. and i thought i was going to die i mean, honestly. tears. spraying out of my eyes. nothing abcatoo. he killed me. it was byron white. if he was a professional football player and i don't know what else. he was amazing. but he about killed me. and so, i learned what to do. give me your hand. see what i am doing? i grabbed his gun. [laughter]

and i did that for the remaining years that he and i were both on that court. [laughter] self protection. self protection. >> do you think female judges have a unique perspective? if so in what way and have as its influence? >> i do not think that they do really. i mean, overall male or female as a justice you have gone to law school. you have studied law. you have some experience. maybe as a trial judge or a state judge or in your law practice, something. and so you come there with some experience that is shared with the -- so i don't think you come in with some pre-set attitude or experience that is vastly different from that of all of

the other justices. i really don't. >> now -- >> it could be at some stage of some proceeding that as a former wife and mother of my look at some domestic relations cases with somewhat different views than maybe it's just a suit is never married or had children. that is possible. but i don't think by and large that you find many with totally different approaches. >> to you think that cameras should be allowed in the court where cases are being argued? >> that question is posed about once per year to members of the supreme court. i guess largely by media people who are accustomed to of covering events. and so far the supreme court has not permitted cameras to come

into the supreme court chamber. it probably does not matter much as a practical matter because by necktie every day that cases are heard at the court, you can get a full transcript of everything that was said that day in the core by the lawyers and judges, the justices. it is all transcribe them available and in writing. so it is completely available almost immediately. and i don't think that the absence of seeing that on a television screen as opposed to reading it in whatever form it comes out is that significant. people are accustomed to, in this country, to seeing everything on the television. so it is a little frustrating to my guest offers some to think it is not fair. i don't think it is a cause for

major concern because of the fact that, in fact a rate is there in writing. you can see what was said. >> what advice would you give a young female attorney interested in becoming a judge? >> oh, well, if you want to be a judge, first of all, you have to be a pretty good law student. you really need to the proof that in law school and elsewhere you have established a record as someone who does understand and know the legal principles and who can write well. that is very important because as a judge you're probably going to have to write your opinions and express yourself well. so that is important, and you want to be able to demonstrate based on articles that you have written and published, works your written and published the you have some capacity to understand legal issues and to write about them. i think that is very helpful in

this election of an appellate court judge. >> the court has had its moments of partisanship dating back to the beginning. to you feel, looking back at recent history, that is, back to world war ii, that partisanship is causing of civility to the? >> i don't think it is as bad as it may be was at earlier times in the nation's history. i really don't. when you look back in the early days of the country, thomas jefferson's, some of the things that went on in court when he was there, when john marshall was our chief justice, they were second cousins approximately, maybe second once removed. i'm not sure exactly. they were cousins, but there were up because in kind. they did not like each other. it was really unpleasant.

yet they have many issues to resolve that affected our nation it is amazing will be got through on those days. we didn't have anything like that today. we have many cases where the justices may end up disagreeing on the bottom line. you're not point to find it 9-0 every time. once in awhile, but usually there is some division of opinion on the court, and that is very normal. in the early days of the country there were some real hostility among some of the justices, sarah said. >> what is the number one question the other female justices have best you about being of a supreme court? >> their best me anything. [laughter] they just go to work and do it. >> what should they ask you? >> about the there's anything they should ask me. maybe how the lunchroom works and how they can get better lunches are something.

that would be the only kind of figure could help them with probably. >> was there any decision you made that based on how it was interpreted or otherwise follow up that you no wish you had voted differently on? >> i don't look back. that is one thing i have learned that is to doom the very best the you can't every day with whatever problems you have and are required to decide to make a decision and then build look back. i don't look back. the insurer have been plenty of mistakes, but i don't need to look back upon. [laughter] that have been there and done that. >> here is another advice question. based on the state of the current job market, what advice would you give someone considering law school?

>> welcome of going to tell them that they will, perhaps to me immediately have the kind of job that was like because it seems to me there are more lawyers available for hire than there are jobs available for lawyers. is tougher to get a job know as a lawyer right now than it used to be. so it may be a more challenging choice of a place to work. i am sure it will even out over time, but if i were being asked that by someone who is in law school today, i would tell them not to rush to get out because they might have a hard time getting a job. >> in cases that depend on science and technology expertise , have you identify and then find such expertise? >> well, i don't have to do that as the judge. i only have to decide each case

based on the evidence presented to the court. in the case of an appellate court, which the supreme court is, the evidence has been introduced and presented at the trial court level. in the first court to hear the case, that is where the evidence comes in. and it is a matter of record. it is in the record on that case so if you want to look back as the appellate court judge that was in the record, it's all there in writing. you don't have to fish around, and you are limited to deciding it based on what is in the record. >> we will any of the stories in this book make it into your i civics curriculum? >> well, i doubt if. i might have put it in already. i don't think so. no. i don't think so.

>> what does all of the big of a controversy of cases come out at the end of the year? >> well, they don't all. i would say maybe a majority tend to come out at the end of the year because the cases that end up producing several opinions, both for and against the decision to above opinions supporting it and those defending opinions that do not support to end their require writing and sometimes considerable writing to produce an opinion. it takes a long time some times to write all those of. and that means that often the last cases to be handed go for a

term tend to be the cases that have produced the most of of of writing because it just took more time to put all that together. >> one more question. what do you do to unwind after a particularly stressful they? >> well, it is not my practice to worry about how to unwind at the end of the day. at like to start my day with some kind of exercise. that is so unlike the starter. the first dead did the very first day, i got of the telephone and called the ywca here in washington d.c. and talked to somebody there of a staff and asked if they could find someone who could come to the court and teach an exercise class early in the morning. they said they thought they could find someone.

they did. they said the young woman down, and she stayed with us for a number of years giving an exercise class early in the morning at least three days a week, and that is what the what. i don't know what you, but i like starting monday with an exercise class. it just gave me more energy for the rest of the day. at the other was a great way to start my day. i think the court still enjoys the privilege of having an exercise class early in the murray -- morning. >> well, will you stay in a sense of books? >> well, not for everyone. the rich and many people here. we will sign until i give out. it has been less talk to you. [applause] >> visit booktv.org to watch any

of the programs you see here live. tepe of the robo title in the search bar. you can also share anything you see easily by clicking share of the upper left side of the page and selecting the format. booktv.org streams live for 48 hours every weekend with top nonfiction books and others. booktv.org. >> recently visited mesa, ariz., with the help of our cable partner. the history of the conservative movement in hollywood. >> the move and started in the first second world war ii temporary, although there were examples of conservative activity in the 1920's and

30's. what you need to remember is hollywood is and was about making money. the early studios were primarily concerned with getting established, making a lot of money. the 1930's when the great depression came, we see in california in particular a resurgence of democrats in the 1934 well-known author of the sinclair was able to win the governor's nomination with a nomination for governor for the democratic party. the studios, hollywood studios were not really thrilled with the idea of a socialist coming into office. and he was talking about nationalizing the film industry.

so the studios, the warner brothers and others poured money into. but -- the road that decision. so that is the beginnings of conservatives and republican activity. but by the time of the exceptions we were in the post second world war ii time friend, the republican party was really a complete disarray, fractionalized commands so what i explain and explore and my book is sell a small group of movie stars, studio moguls and california businessmen got together and rebuild the republic -- republican party ultimately. ronald reagan as governor.

in informal alliance. the movie stars such as john wayne, robert montgomery, robert taylor, barbara stanwyck, many -- many of these names are not known by your youngbear viewers. walt disney, who is well known for his cartoons and business studios. and then a group of businessmen, people like justin doddered who -- walter knocks who established knocks barry farms. the firestone family. and they came and. it decided to rebuild the road publican party. democratic registration in california have far surpassed at

the same time the republicans were fractionalized throughout the 1950's and the 1960's. so in rebuilding the party it meant that money needed to be put into the party in campaigns, but it also meant taking these well-known stars and sending them out to speak to civic clubs and paternal order it to the organizations and other democrats throughout southern california. robert taylor, for instance, a big star in the valley was sent out to places like montana and riverside. people like ginger rogers, another republican who was sent out to speak to civic groups. but primarily what brought them together is there were republican and concerned with

big government, especially the expansion of big government during the new deal in the 1930's. and so they wanted tow scale back government. it wanted the republicans -- fewer taxes, but at the same time there were also interested in boosting the economy, making this -- making the state of california a good place to bring business. so they've were concerned with labor issues, especially the role of labour in the democratic party and they wanted small government. they also want defense contracts. so they use to the republicans, such as former actor george murphy who was at the tail end of his career, they used him as a lobbyist to talk to

vice-president richard nixon who was vice-president of dwight d. eisenhower, to make sure that they were the eisenhower administration was sending defence contracts. the republicans were quite successful. the look at the very end, that is 1980 monday a like ronald reagan, in other words, one of the actors who was involved in this campaign to revitalize the republican party. to the success should not take away from the fact that they had their ups and downs. fighting over candidates. in 72 some of the hollywood moguls such as ginger rogers and others wanted a band by the name

they did not like eisenhower. and then in 1964 when the senator from arizona ran in the primary some of the republicans, such as the justin dart and leonard firestone supported nelson rockefeller who was seen as the eastern establishment. they thought that goldwater was not the best candidate, and he was supported by the far right. so it is conservatives fighting on the far right, which is the republican party. today, factual the information and political powers. today they are the conservatives and the republican are trying to

regroup. there are some well-known stars that are conservative. they try to organize. many of the hollywood conservatives today are libertarian, which is a good politics for hollywood because libertarians really don't individually -- individual freedom, smaller government, and less taxes. anyway, i would say that the real story is when hollywood is right, in this time from the 1940's, late 1940's up until 1980. the conservatives and republicans in hollywood still have a history cahow they were able to regroup and have influence on southern california national polits.