All four women who have served as Supreme Court justices will appear together April 11 for a program celebrating the 30th anniversary of Sandra Day O'Connor's first term on the Court.
O'Connor, the first woman to serve on the high court, was sworn in on Sept. 24, 1981, in time for the October start of the 1981-1982 term. She was relieved to be joined by Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1993, but retired in 2006 before Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, the third and fourth female justices, were appointed.
The four will participate in a 6:30 p.m. panel discussion at the Newseum in D.C., moderated by James Duff, president and CEO of the Freedom Forum. The Freedom Forum operates the Newseum and is co-sponsoring the event. Duff is a familiar figure at the Court, having served as administrative assistant to the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist from 1996 to 2000. He then became director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts until last year.
Gregory Joseph, president of the Supreme Court Historical Society, announced the event Wednesday night at the end of a society-sponsored lecture at the Court. The society is co-sponsoring the O'Connor program with the Freedom Forum. "This will be a truly historic event," said Joseph, principal of the Gregory P. Joseph Law Offices in New York City. Tickets to the event, which includes a reception after the panel discussion, cost $100 each and will be available through the society.
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