The Pragmatic Middle and Its Consequences: The Influence of Justice O’Connor

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor sought to insure that prison officials’ interests in security and order were protected as she recognized limited constitutional rights for prisoners. Her pragmatic position was not driven by a particular judicial philosophy. As the middle justice in a frequently divided C...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Supreme Court and the Development of Law pp. 109 - 128
Main Author Smith, Christopher E
Format Book Chapter
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Palgrave Macmillan 2016
Palgrave Macmillan US
Subjects
Crime & criminology
Prisoners’ rights
Sandra O’Connor
Supreme Court
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Justice Sandra Day O’Connor sought to insure that prison officials’ interests in security and order were protected as she recognized limited constitutional rights for prisoners. Her pragmatic position was not driven by a particular judicial philosophy. As the middle justice in a frequently divided Court, she had opportunities to write influential majority opinions, especially in Turner v. Safley (1987), the case that established a rational basis test for certain First Amendment issues. Justice O’Connor’s role illustrated how justices whose decision-making approaches place them in the middle of a divided Supreme Court can gain extra influence by determining the winning side and judicial reasoning in contested cases.
ISBN:9781137567628
1137567627
DOI:10.1057/978-1-137-56763-5_6