c-span: justice sandra day o'connor, why a book about the lazy b? >> guest: basically, because my brother and i grew up on the lazy b ranch, and it ended up being sold in the late 1980s, and it broke my heart. something that i thought would always be part of me and part of our family and always there for my children and grandchildren and their children was gone, and there wasn't any other way to preserve it, i guess, except to sit down and see if we can write up some of those memories and make it real. c-span: when--when did you start writing it? >> guest: oh, about three years ago. for a long time, it was so painful that the ranch was gone that i couldn't let myself think about it. it would depress me if i did. i don't know if you're like that, but if there's a place that i really loved and cared

she is former supreme court justice, sandra day o'connor. for the 30th anniversary of her nomination to the court, justice owe conor sat down with npr and abc correspondent cocie roberts for a interview exclusively to "to the contrary." >> what was it like when you found out? >> it was a shock, i mean, who would think for a moment that some cowgirl from southeast arizona would be asking to serve on the supreme court. it was a shock. >> that's how you see yourself? >> that's what i was. i mean, i had a little education along the way, i hope i learned something in the process. but i never expected to be asked to serve on the supreme court. i was very honored. i wasn't sure i should do it. i had never argued a case at the core, i had not been a law clerk at the court. >> did the president himself call you? >> he did. my phone wrong and it was ronald reagan an the phone. he said, sandra, i'd like to announce your nomination for the court tomorrow. frank lie my heart sang. >> really? >> it really did. because i was not at all sure that i could do

sandra day o'connor coming david souter and john paul stevens. hrough more different human beings who will never meet. sandra day o'connor coming this fall, charismatic, outgoing politician from arizona. david souter, shy, reclusive busser from the other side of the country in new hampshire. john paul stevens, where the antitrust lawyer from chicago. what do they have in common? they were all moderate republicans. they were all moderate republicans who left the court deeply and totally alienated from the modern republican party. and "the oath" can i tell a story justice o'connor and justice souter having a conversation in the hallway at the supreme court and o'connor, boiling the frustration about how, as she said, why is it that our party is destroying the country? why are we spending money we don't have? why are we engaged in this war in iraq with no and? barry goldwater she said never gave a who you slept with him that was the party now does give a where you change with. today's stephen breyer said after the court decided the seattle and louisv

sandra o'connor, one of my colleagues, feels very strongly about the fact that teenagers and high-school students are not learning civics. they do not know how the government of the united states works. she spends a lot of for time trying to develop programs on computers, television, that you can send into the classrooms. none of us thinks the rule of law is the american system in its entirety. we think the fact that people will apply and follow a rule of law is one thing that we think -- i think -- and is a national treasure. it is a treasure that has developed over many, many, many years with many setbacks along the way. in my and mind, there is no way of maintaining it without teaching the next generation, the generation after that. that means teaching. it does not mean propaganda. it means giving them a chance to discuss these things, to understand how the system works, to participate. in san francisco, we would have a day called youth in government day. everybody in the class would get to go shadow one of the board of supervisors. i remember that. like the mayor or the city attorney

sandra day o'connor, tall, outgoing, charismatic, former politics from arizona. david souter, shy, from new hampshire, downpaul stevens, wiley antitrust lawyer from chicago. totally different personalities. what do they have in come? they're all moderate republicans who left the supreme court completely alienated from the modern republican party and that's what is important about them to me. just as moderate republicans have disappeared from the united states senate and certainly the united states house of representatives, they have disappeared from the united states supreme court, and that to me is the most significant thing about the supreme court, which is the decisions they reach, why they reach them, and why those decisions matter to people in the real world. >> all right, finally, we have todd peppers of roanoke college, and robert, who wrote a book on the justices' law clerks and which. the new book, in chambers, is a fascinating collection of narratives and essays from clerks about their justices. so todd and art, can you tell us those stories and how the

sandra day o'connor, this tall outgoing charismatic former politician from arizona, the shy reclusive bachelor from new hampshire, john paul stevens, widely antitrust lawyer from chicago, totally different personalities but what do they have in common? they are all moderate republicans who left the supreme court completely alienated from the modern republican party. and that it will what is important about them to me. just as moderate republicans had disappeared from the united states senate and certainly the united states house of representatives the head disappeared from the united states supreme court, and that, to me is the most significant thing about the supreme court, which is the decisions they reach, why they reach them and why those decisions matter to people in the real world. >> all right. finally we have todd pepper together create a subcategory of supreme court books that spotlight the influence of importance in the justice law clerks, which is the subject i have been fascinated with for many years as well. the new book in chambers is a fascinating collection of essays f

. >> guest: well, i think call bris si is closer to the truth that sandra day o'connor was, but i don't think either of them gets it quite right. the point is our judges were handed this document and said this is what you administer, this is what you decide cases by. the fact that somebody in a similar society has a somewhat different document is no reason to say, well, we have more similarities than differences, therefore, we'll pick up their or law and apply it as if it were ours. that doesn't make any sense at all. you're given our constitution to interpret, and that's what you should interpret and not what some modern german philosopher thinks about the nature of constitutional law. >> host: one question i've heard asked is why shouldn't our judges not -- borrow from things they think are good opinions in other countries? >> guest: i think i just answered that. >> host: okay. >> guest: justice breyer in one case recommends that we consider the supreme court of india, i believe it is, jamaica and zimbabwe. now, that gets pretty, that gets pretty hilarious. if we're running around loo

sandra o'connor, one of my colleagues, feels very strongly about the fact that teenagers and high-school students are not learning civics. they do not know how the government of the united states works. she's been a lot of for time trying to develop programs on computers, television, that you can send into the classrooms. none of us thinks the rule of law is the american system in its entirety. we think the fact that people will apply and follow a rule of law is one thing that we think -- i think -- and is a national treasure. it is a treasure that has developed over many, many, many years with many setbacks along the way. in my and mind, there is no way of maintaining it without teaching the next generation, the generation after that. that means teaching. it does not mean propaganda. it means giving them a chance to discuss these things, to understand how the system works, to participate. we would have a day called youth in government today. everybody in the class would get to go in shadow down -- shattered one of the board of supervisors. -- shadow one of the board of supervisors. i re

>> yeah, at sandra day o'connor elementary school in mesa, arizona, outside of phoenix.n by parents who are bringing their kids to school today. the first day of school after that tragedy in connecticut. this is a very middle-class community. it is a community not that far away just a year ago from tucson where a mass shooting happened. six people killed. congresswoman giffords injured. these folks have some experience with these mass shootings. we asked them what their thoughts are on gun control. and just like the rest of thenition, parents here are very divided. >> there should be more gun control, yes. >> reporter: why do you think that? >> well, you know, guns are -- guns are in the wrong hands, very dangerous. >> guns don't kill people. people kill people. >> definitely should be a gun control issue. should be no guns out there. lot of crazy people don't know how to handle guns. >> i don't think taking guns out of civilians who are good contributing members of society are the answer. >> reporter: that father you heard will, matthew, he's actually an assistant pasto

when you joined the court, sandra day o'connor had been the only woman for some time, and she became the second. after she left, we were back to only having a single woman, and now there are three. to to reflect some on the dynamics at the court in terms of what it means to have more than one woman? >> sandra was alone on the court for 12 years. and by the way, when i showed up, sander was on the bench nine days after her breast cancer surgery. in any case, we belong to the national association of women judges, and just what would happen when i got there, number two. so they had a reception at the court in our honor, and they presented as with t-shirts. and sanders read, i'm sander, not ruth. mindset i'm ruth, not sandra. [laughter] [applause] and nevertheless, every term the two of us sat together, one lawyer or another would address me as justice o'connor. the people who know us, know that we don't look anything alike. [laughter] we don't speak alike, but it was a woman's voice and the woman was justice o'connor. people like our solicitor general, the former associate of mine, and

>> i was just thinking about sandra day o'connor not being able to get a job, taking a job as a secretary. this goes back generations. but it is surprisingly still present in subtle ways. everything would have been different for me. and would not have enjoyed the sisterhood that we are. last night on nbc nightly news, this was a first, i think, for us. we of four women who work in our bureau. the last night, all four of us were on the air. we were the four correspondents from washington. that was kind of great. the realized it happened and sent messages to the others. it was very cool. it would have been a whole lot easier for me. i always felt that i had to volunteer for everything, work weekends. when i covered the reagan white house, i was coming in at the bottom. i was the number four correspondent. i took any chance i could to cover the big stories. i also had to be there every day. i covered the energy crisis, three mile island and the aftermath of it. >> on tv, we pay so much attention to what women wear and their hair. is that still true, or is it getting better? >> there was an a

i mean, when i talk to -- sandra o'connor, one of my colleagues, you know, she, and kennedy, all of us feel very strongly about in the united states the fact that teenagers and high school students are not learning civics. i don't know how the government of the united states works. and so she spends a lot of her time trying to develop programs on computers, on television that you could send into the classrooms. so they would understand. none of us think that the rule of law is the american system in its entirety. we think the fact that people will apply and follow a rule of law is one thing that we think, i think him and i think as people think about it think, is a national treasure. but it's a treasure that's developed, and that's been my point, over many, many many years, with many setbacks along the way. and, of course, in my own mind there's no way of maintaining it without teaching the next generation, generation after that, and that means teaching. it doesn't mean propaganda. it means giving them a chance to discuss these things, how the system works, to participate, one of the t

>> i was just thinking about sandra day o'connor not being able to get a job, taking a job as a secretarysingly still subtle -- still present in subtle ways. everything would have been different for me. and would not have enjoyed the sisterhood that we are. last night on nbc nightly news, this was a first, i think, for us. we of four women who work in our bureau. the last night, all four of us were on the air. we were the four correspondents from washington. that was kind of great. the realized it happened and sent messages to the others. it was very cool. it would have been a whole lot easier for me. i always felt that i had to volunteer for everything, work weekends. when i covered the reagan white house, i was coming in at the bottom. i was the number four correspondent. i took any chance i could to cover the big stories. i also had to be there every day. i covered the energy crisis, three mile island and the aftermath of the -- of it. >> on tv, we pay so much attention to what women wear and their hair. is that still true, or is it getting better? >> there was an article -- >> i saw t

>> i was thinking when she was talking about sandra day o'connor not being able to the job. this goes. generations. -- this goes back generations. it is surprisingly still present in subtle ways. everything would have been different if i have not been a woman. i would not have had the joy of being a woman, mentoring women, and the sisterhood that we are. last night on nbc nightly news, i think this was a first for us. we have four women in our bureau that work for nightly news. last night, all four of us were on the air. we were the four correspondence from washington. that was really exciting. and realized that halfway through the show and sent them messages. it was very cool. that would have never happen. it would have been easier for me. i felt i had to volunteer for everything and that i was judged by a much tougher standard. i had to work weekends. when i first want to cover the reagan white house, i was coming in at the bottom. i was the number four correspondent. i had to look for any chance to break through and cover the big stories. i felt i had to be there every da

sandra day o'connor coming david souter and john paul stevens. hrough more different human beings who will never meet. sandra day o'connor coming this fall, charismatic, outgoing politician from arizona. david souter, shy, reclusive busser from the other side of the country in new hampshire. john paul stevens, where the antitrust lawyer from chicago. what do they have in common? they were all moderate republicans. they were all moderate republicans who left the court deeply and totally alienated from the modern republican party. and "the oath" can i tell a story justice o'connor and justice souter having a conversation in the hallway at the supreme court and o'connor, boiling the frustration about how, as she said, why is it that our party is destroying the country? why are we spending money we don't have? why are we engaged in this war in iraq with no and? barry goldwater she said never gave a who you slept with him that was the party now does give a where you change with. today's stephen breyer said after the court decided the seattle and louisv