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Texas Native O'Connor Retiring From U.S. Supreme Court

By J. Lyn Carl, GalleryWatch.com

Washington, D.C. –

Texas native Sandra Day O'Connor, 75, today announced her retirement as Justice on the United States Supreme Court.

O'Connor, who hails from El Paso, offered her resignation from the High Court in a letter to fellow Texan, President George W. Bush.

In that letter, O'Connor wrote, "It has been a great privilege, indeed, to have served as a member of the court for 24 terms. I will leave it with enormous respect for the integrity of the court and its role under our constitutional structure."

O'Connor said she will retire effective on the nomination and confirmation of her successor.

The rumor mill initially churned out reports that Chief Justice William Rhenquist would be the next member of the High Court to resign, given his recent bout with throat cancer.

O'Connor was named to the court by then-President Ronald Reagan. Upon nominating her, he called O'Connor "a person for all seasons," with a "devotion to the public good."

This morning on the U.S. Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist noted of O'Connor's resignation, "Today marks a great loss for America," adding that it also is a time to "reflect on all the country has gained" from O'Connor's service on the Supreme Court. He described O'Connor as having a "brilliant mind" and that she rendered "fair and impartial judgments."

The names of two Texans have been mentioned previously as possible successors in a vacancy on the High Court - U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a former Texas Attorney General, and U.S. Attorney General Alberto "Al" Gonzales. Cornyn is Texas' junior senator while Gonzales was appointed last November by Bush to serve as U.S. Attorney General. Gonzales had previously served Bush as his White House Counsel and prior to his White House service was appointed by then-Governor Bush as a justice on the Texas Supreme Court.

The president is expected to address the issue in a news conference today.