WASHINGTON — Mourners will pay their respects to the trailblazing late Justice Sandra Day O’Connor at the Supreme Court on Monday ahead of her funeral service the following day.
O’Connor, a savvy consensus builder who was the first woman to serve on the court, died on Dec. 1 at the age of 93.
Her body will lie in repose in the Supreme Court’s Great Hall all day Monday.
O’Connor’s casket is expected to arrive at the court around 9:30 a.m., with Supreme Court police officers carrying it into the building.
After a private ceremony, at which justices and family members are likely to be present, members of the public can pay their respects from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Biden will remain in Wilmington on Monday, where he often spends his weekends. Monday is also the anniversary of the car crash that killed his first wife, Neilia, and 13-month-old daughter Naomi in 1972. He will return to Washington on Tuesday to attend O’Connor’s funeral, where he will eulogize the former justice along with Chief Justice John Roberts.
The funeral service will take place at the Washington National Cathedral, a site often used to honor high-profile government officials such as former Secretary of State Colin Powell and former Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. The invitation-only service will be livestreamed for the public.
Appointed by Republican President Ronald Reagan in 1981, O’Connor was for many years before her retirement in 2006 a key swing vote on the then-closely divided court, often casting the deciding vote in the most contentious cases.
She sometimes sided with the court’s conservatives, most notably in 2000 when the court ended the Florida recount in the race between George W. Bush and Al Gore, ensuring that Bush won the election.
But she joined with the court’s liberals in affirming abortion rights and upholding affirmative action in college admissions, among other things.
As the court has moved further to the right in recent years, her legacy has been undermined, with the 6-3 conservative majority ending the constitutional right to abortion and the consideration of race in college admissions.
