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Recognizing exemplary leadership in rule of law initiatives and honoring Sandra Day O’Connor’s legacy
Stephen Breyer, who served on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1994 to 2022, was named the 11th annual O’Connor Justice Prize recipient and accepted the award Jan. 16 at a signature event in Scottsdale, Arizona, hosted by the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.
Selected annually by an advisory board led by Ambassador Barbara Barrett and the Honorable Ruth McGregor, the award recognizes individuals who carry forward Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s legacy of service. Breyer’s honor comes during the nation’s 250th anniversary year, a timely reminder of the rule of law’s central place in American democracy.
“I can’t think of anything I’d rather have,” said Breyer as he accepted the award.
Across decades of public service, Breyer has worked as a scholar, jurist, author and civic leader. He clerked for Justice Arthur Goldberg, taught at Harvard Law School and later became chief counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. On the U.S. Sentencing Commission, he helped develop the federal sentencing guidelines. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter, who received the O’Connor Justice Prize in 2017, appointed Breyer to the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, where he later served as chief judge.
“I’m honored to have a prize in Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s name. This is one of the best awards I have received in my life,” former Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said as she accepted the award on Jan. 25 at the 10th Annual O’Connor Justice Prize signature event in Scottsdale, Arizona, organized by the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.
The room fell silent as guests at the dinner listened to Sirleaf discuss her contributions to justice and human rights during a Q&A led by Ana Palacio, OJP Advisory Board member and 2016 OJP recipient.
Sirleaf has earned recognition for her long list of accomplishments. As a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the first democratically elected female head of state in Africa, her leadership in transforming Liberia aligns with the values Justice O’Connor upheld throughout her career.
“Through her work, she has championed democratic values, economic development and gender equality,” said ASU Law Willard H. Pedrick Dean and OJP Advisory Board Member Stacy Leeds to the crowd. “Her impact resonates far beyond Liberia’s borders, and her leadership exemplifies the ideals Justice O’Connor worked tirelessly to uphold.”
Rangina Hamidi, the former education minister for Afghanistan, was honored with the annual O’Connor Justice Prize on Jan. 27.
The O’Connor Justice Prize was established 10 years ago to reward extraordinary people working to advance justice and uphold human rights across the globe. Past recipients include U.S. President Jimmy Carter, South African President FW De Klerk and last year’s winner Louise Arbour, a former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Hamidi joins their ranks this year at the first O’Connor Justice Prize ceremony since the passing of its namesake, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
Hamidi acknowledged this in her remarks at the ceremony in Scottsdale.
“I feel a special honor because I’m the last honoree to have received this award during Justice O’Connor’s lifetime,” she said. “I feel privileged to learn that when Justice O’Connor learned about me, she concluded her remarks by saying, ‘Rangina is a woman of courage.’ While we all sense Justice O’Connor’s loss of presence tonight, I know she’s with us in spirit.”
ASU awards Louise Arbour for her commitment to the rule of law, human rights. Former Supreme Court of Canada Justice Louise Arbour had the honor of receiving the 2023 O’Connor Justice Prize on Jan. 28. The award, administered by the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, is inspired by the legacy of former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
Judge Elizabeth Odio Benito, president of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, has been named the seventh recipient of the O’Connor Justice Prize. She was the first female professor at the University of Costa Rica Law School, founded the Human Rights Institute of Costa Rica and has served as the minister of justice of Costa Rica and as a judge on three international tribunals.
Anson Chan, known as “Hong Kong’s conscience” for her decades of devotion to social justice and democracy, has been named the fourth recipient of the annual O’Connor Justice Prize.
Former President Jimmy Carter said Friday that the U.S. should be “a champion of peace,” “human rights” and “generosity,” aspirations he said would stem worries over the country’s future.
Former President Jimmy Carter, whose three and a half decades of humanitarian work has come to define a successful post-presidency, will receive the 2017 O’Connor Justice Prize in January. The award, named for former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and administered by the law school at ASU which bears her name, is for exemplary leadership in rule-of-law initiatives. Carter’s work includes conflict mediation, election monitoring and the promotion of human rights.
A former South African judge who fought against apartheid and champions international human rights was honored with the first O’Connor Justice Prize. Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, was presented the award at a dinner on Nov. 14, in Phoenix. The O’Connor Justice Prize was established to recognize a person who, like retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, has made extraordinary contributions to the rule of law, justice and human rights.
Arizona State University is uniquely positioned to offer a program in Rule of Law and Governance. This program designed to prepare you for jobs in the U.S. and overseas that promote justice and good governance, human rights and national and international security. This training will prepare graduates for international development and policy jobs in the public and private sectors.
If you are a member of the media working on a story, please contact law.media@asu.edu or call 480-965-8702.
If you would like more information about the O’Connor Justice Prize event, please contact Austin Prutch at 480-965-8425.