Funeral for former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor

The flag-draped casket of retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor arrives at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, on Tuesday.

At a Tuesday funeral service for Sandra Day O’Connor, President Joe Biden and Chief Justice John Roberts spoke about her life and work as the first woman to serve as a US Supreme Court Justice.

Here’s what you need to know about the funeral at Washington National Cathedral:

President Joe Biden looks on as late retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's casket is brought into Washington National Cathedral during her funeral.

Biden hailed Sandra O’Connor’s work for empowering women: “Sandra Day O’Connor, the daughter of the American West, was a pioneer in her own right, breaking down the barriers of legal and political worlds and the nation’s consciousness,” he said. Under great pressure and scrutiny, she helped “empower generations of women,” “open doors, secure freedoms, and prove that a woman can not only do anything a man can do,” but many times do it “a heck of a lot better,” he said, adding she was “gracious and wise, civil and principled.”

Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts speaks during a funeral service for retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Roberts said she was so successful in breaking barriers that they seem “unthinkable” today: “Sandra Day O’Connor had to study and launch a career in the law when most men in the established profession did not want women lawyers — let alone judges,” he said, adding the measure of her life and work is that “younger people today cannot understand what it was like before Justice O’Connor.” Roberts also remembered O’Connor’s approach at the court as “simple and direct: Get it done.”

Evan Thomas speaks during the service.

Historian says the Supreme Court building was O’Connor’s “temple”: Evan W. Thomas III described how the late Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was “the glue” of the Supreme Court, recalling how she encouraged the justices to get to know each other outside of the chamber. Thomas described her dedication to the law, saying she “found her church” in Washington, DC. “Her temple, you might say, was the white marble building on First Street, NE,” he said, referring to the Supreme Court building in the city.

The US Supreme Court justices and others attend the funeral service for late retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor at Washington National Cathedral on December 19, in Washington, DC. 

O’Connor had stepped down from the court to take care of her husband: She retired in 2006 to care for her husband who was ailing from Alzheimer’s disease. President George W. Bush would go on to nominate Justice Samuel Alito to take her seat.

Jay O'Connor walks past her casket after speaking during a memorial service at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, December 19.

Jay H. O’Connor, the son of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, called his mother a “force of nature” — but admitted she had been keeping a secret.

“In the presence of the president, the Supreme Court justices and all of you today, I ask you this: Based on her 40-year dedication to promoting the rule of law and democracy at home and abroad, do you think she’s earned enough extra credit to raise that lowly B in civics to an A?” her son asked the crowd, to applause from President Joe Biden and other attendees.

He said “most of all, she loved her family” and was a mom in every aspect — from grocery shopping to taking care of her kids, all with a demanding career. He described her energy and her love of dancing.

“Mom and dad absolutely loved to dance and they were known as the best dancers in Washington. In this city, it was not uncommon for the dance floor to clear the moment they stepped onto it hand in hand,” he said, adding that his mom was the first person on the Supreme Court with “technical training in disco dancing.”

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts arrives to speak during the memorial service for late retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor at the National Cathedral on December 19, 2023 in Washington, DC.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts paid tribute to Sandra Day O’Connor’s career that broke barriers.

Remarking her achievement as the first female Supreme Court justice, Roberts said:

Roberts added that she has to “find her own style to cajole, persuade and unite colleagues when there was no example to follow.”

“She had to ignore slights and work to bring people together in social, professional, and political life. She had to demonstrate excellence as the 102nd member of the Supreme Court, all the while setting a model as the first woman on the job,” he said.

The measure of her life and work is that “younger people today cannot understand what it was like before Justice O’Connor and what now seems a distant past.”

“In nearly a quarter century on the the court, she was a strong, influential and iconic jurist. Her leadership shaped the legal professional, making it obvious that judges are both women and men. The time when women were not on the bench seemed so far away because Justice O’Connor was so good when she was on the bench,” Roberts said.

Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts speaks during a funeral service for retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor at the Washington National Cathedral, Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, in Washington.

Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s approach at the court “was simple and direct: Get it done,” current Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said in his eulogy Tuesday.

“The way she participated in oral argument at the court is a good example. Justices have many different styles on the bench. Some like the back and forth of debates, others pose unusual hypotheticals, some badger counsel to get concessions. Others spell out a particular theory at length and ask for comment. Now all this is fine and good, Chief Justice Roberts said.

He continued:

Roberts also recalled her asking him before he was confirmed to be the Supreme Court chief justice to hire her law clerks “or they won’t have jobs” since she was about to retire. “She saw a problem for the clerks and a solution. She wanted to get it done.”

Evan Thomas speaks during a funeral service for retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor at the Washington National Cathedral on Thursday in Washington, DC.

Evan W. Thomas III, a historian and author, described how the late Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was “the glue” of the Supreme Court, recalling how she encouraged the justices to get to know each other outside of the chamber.

“If they didn’t go to lunch, she would go to the chambers and just sit there until they did,” he added.

Thomas described her dedication to the law, saying she “found her church” in Washington, DC.

“Her temple, you might say, was the white marble building on First Street, NE,” he said, referring to the Supreme Court building in the city.

President Joe Biden and Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su attend a funeral service for retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor at the Washington National Cathedral, Tuesday, Dec. 19, in Washington, DC.

Sandra Day O’Connor empowered generations of women, President Joe Biden said in his eulogy Tuesday.

O’Connor also valued the civic life of America, communities, friendships and family, he said.

Addressing her family, Biden said he hoped they hold on to the love she had for them.

“What a gift! I hope that you find comfort in another profound consequence of her service — the countless families that she helped by speaking so openly about your family’s experiences. It matters,” he said.

President Joe Biden speaks during a memorial service for former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, on December 19.

President Joe Biden opened his eulogy Tuesday by recounting the 1981 day that the US Senate Judiciary convened for the nomination of Sandra Day O’Connor “to become the first woman in American history to serve as a Supreme Court justice on the United States Supreme Court.”

He continued: “Sandra Day O’Connor, the daughter of the American West, was a pioneer in her own right, breaking down the barriers of legal and political worlds and the nation’s consciousness.”

Pallbearers prepare to carry the casket of the late retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor into Washington National Cathedral for her funeral service on December 19 in Washington, DC.

A funeral service for former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor has started at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC.

The funeral comes a day after members of the public had an opportunity to pay their respects in front of the Supreme Court — where O’Connor laid in repose.

It’s traditional for late justices to lie in repose at the Supreme Court.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — the second woman to join the high court — became the first woman to do so following her death in September 2020. The late Justice John Paul Stevens also laid in repose following his death in July 2019.

President Joe Biden is expected to deliver remarks at the memorial service, the White House said.

CNN’s Samantha Waldenberg contributed reporting to this post.

President Joe Biden attends the memorial service for former US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, on December 19.

President Joe Biden has arrived at the National Cathedral for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s memorial.

The president is scheduled to deliver remarks memorializing the late justice as part of the memorial service this morning.

Biden is seated next to Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su in the first pew of the cathedral — also seated in his row are Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and her husband David Davighi, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and her husband Robert Skidmore, and Bruce Reed.

Sandra Day O’Connor, who blazed trails as the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court, has died at the age of 93.

O’Connor died due to “complications related to advanced dementia,” the court said.

O’Connor was nominated for the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan in 1981. She stepped down from the court in 2006 to care for her husband, who was ailing from Alzheimer’s disease. President George W. Bush nominated Samuel Alito to take her seat.

Over her time on the Supreme Court, O’Connor became known as a moderate conservative and often the swing vote on hot-button social issues. She inspired generations of female lawyers, including the five women who served after her nomination.

See photos of her life and career:

O'Connor, right, was born March 26, 1930, in El Paso, Texas. Her parents were ranchers. Her mother, Ada Mae, is seen on the left holding Sandra's brother, Alan. Sandra's sister, Ann, is in the middle. 

O'Connor is seen second from left in the first row as she poses with other members of her Stanford Law School class in 1952. Another future Supreme Court justice, William Rehnquist, is in the back row on the far left. 

In nominating O'Connor for the bench in 1981, President Ronald Reagan called O'Connor "truly a person for all seasons, possessing those unique qualities of temperament, fairness, intellectual capacity, and devotion to the public good which have characterized the 101 brethren who have preceded her." 

O'Connor is sworn in for her confirmation hearings in 1981. 

O'Connor poses with other Supreme Court justices for an official photo in 1982. With O'Connor in the back row, from left, are John Paul Stevens, Lewis F. Powell Jr. and William Rehnquist. In the front row, from left, are Thurgood Marshall, William J. Brennan Jr., Chief Justice Warren Burger, Byron White and Harry Blackmun. 

O'Connor and fellow Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg are surrounded by statues of men as they pose together at the US Capitol in 2001. 

President Barack Obama presents O'Connor with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. 

O'Connor testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2012. She spoke to the necessity for civics education in maintaining an independent judiciary. She also expressed doubt about the process in some states of electing judges, and about the validity of asking Supreme Court nominees how they would vote in the future.