Supreme Court drapes courtroom doors in honor of Sandra Day O’Connor

The Supreme Court hung a black drape over the courtroom doors in remembrance of the late Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who died Friday at the age of 93.

O’Connor, the first woman to be confirmed to the Supreme Court, served for more than 24 years on the bench. She died following complications from dementia.

The draping is a tradition that the court says dates back at least 150 years to the death of Chief Justice Salmon Chase. 

A sitting justice’s death is historically marked by draping their chair and the front of the bench where they sat, while retired justices’ passings are marked by the draping of the courtroom doors.

The black drape saluting O’Connor was hung in advance of Monday’s oral argument, the first since her passing.

Before the argument began, Chief Justice John Roberts took a few minutes to remember the late justice, whom Roberts was initially selected to replace.

“She changed the world,” Roberts said.

O’Connor, nominated by President Reagan in 1981, for years served as the undeniable swing vote on the Supreme Court, writing majority opinions that upheld abortion rights and affirmative action.

Roberts praised O’Connor’s service on the court — noting her 645 total opinions — and off the court — touting her later efforts to promote civic education — echoing the written comments he had issued last week.

With his fellow justices turning toward him to listen, the chief justice called O’Connor an “irresistible force of will” who was “always putting one foot in front of the other.”

“She was, in her own words, a cowgirl from the desert,” Roberts said, noting how O’Connor spent much of her life in Arizona after being born in Texas.

All living justices — current and retired — released written statements Friday praising O’Connor, with the women who followed her describing O’Connor as the “perfect trailblazer” and an “American hero.”

Funeral plans have not yet been announced, although Roberts indicated the court will follow its tradition of holding a memorial event at an “appropriate time.”