Senate confirmation. The Ronald Reagan president ial foundation and good afternoon. My name is john heubusch. I have the honor of being executive director of the Ronald Reagan president ial foundation and institute. Thank you for coming out. If you would, in honor of our men and women in uniform who defend our freedom around the world, please stand and join me for the pledge of allegiance. [in unison] i pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america and to the republic for which it stands one nation, under god, indivisible with liberty john thank you, please be seated. In the fall of 1988 when president Ronald Reagan broke ground at the sight of his future president ial library, im not sure he could have imagined that his foundation, the one bearing his name would one day also be operating a robust institute in washington dc, one just steps from the white house he would soon leave behind for his beloved homeland ranch in the west. However, i do know that todays celebrati
[applause] thank you. Its really an honor and a privilege to be here. I was asked to say a few words to introduce the next panel. I would start by saying something that we probably know. The court is a fairly powerful institution. It was not always so, one of the signs of how powerful it is, is that you do see, in any president ial election, people say it matters who you vote for because they will pick the next Supreme Court justices. If you think about why that really is so, the Court Decides about 80 cases a year. About 75 of them need to be decided but thats not the reason the court is powerful and not the reason people say that about who you should vote for for the president ial election. There typically five or six cases in any term which is why we care about the court. Those are the cases that have truly Significant Impact on our politics, society, and government. Part of the reason that makes them so important is that the law runs out before you get to the decision. So how do we
Privilege of welcoming the second and the third. Were extraordinarily grateful to justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor to join us to honor Sandra Day Oconnor. It turns out that Justice Ginsberg and Justice Oconnor share an unusual distinction and that is interesting nicknames. When Justice Oconnor was confirmed she earned the moniker fwotsc for first woman on the Supreme Court. Justice ginsburg has been kroub crowned the notorious rbg. Ill leave it to you to decide which one is catchier. They share a lifelong commitment to expanding opportunities for women. It makes sense when Justice Ginsburg joins Justice Oconnor on the bench in 1993, the two bonded over their historic role in transforming the Supreme Court. Both justices had to overcome discrimination and professional rejection, but Justice Oconnor once put a helpful spin on it if they had come of age when women could easily be lawyers, she told Justice Ginsburg, they would probably end up as retired partners at some law
Context of Justice Oconnors life and career and captured its significance. We have commented on the jurisprudence and now we will turn to the legacy and discuss the lasting contribution and the ways we will continue to see her hand in law and the civic life of this great country. About 15 years before he nominated oconnor, Ronald Reagan delivered one of his most consequential political speeches at a law day lunch in southern california. In 1966, Ronald Reagan advanced an initiative to take judges out of politics and articulated his vision of an ideal judge. He called for judges to be men with ability come up men of honor and men who are fairminded. When it came to his first nomination to the Supreme Court, he delivered a nominee who realized his vision. Listening earlier today, we have gotten a taste of Justice Oconnors remarkable ability and the honor and fairness and decency with which she approached her life and her craft. As one of Justice Oconnors [indiscernible] without fanfare,
Reagan nominated Sandra Day Oconnor to be the first woman to serve on the u. S. Supreme court. Next on American History tv, a discussion with author evan thomas and one of Justice Oconnors sons on the qualification ands characteristics that led to her appointment. Good afternoon. For those ive not had a chance to meet, my name is john. I have the honor of being executive director of the Ronald Reagan president ial foundation and institute. Thank you all for coming out this afternoon. If you would, in honor of our men and women in uniform who defend our freedom around the world, please stand and join me for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for chwhicht stands, one nation, under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Please be seated. In the fall of 1988, when president Ronald Reagan broke ground at the site of his future president ial library, im not sure that he could have imagined that