The Data Lounge
Sandra Day O'Connor
WASHINGTON -- Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor,
speaking Thursday before an educational forum in Washington, said legal cases
involving the rights and treatment of gay Americans are on the rise and suggest
a major new focus for the nation's courts in the 21st century.
Asked to predict what issue might define the work of the
Supreme Court in the 21st century, O'Connor said cases "relating to how
homosexuals are treated legally" are one possibility. "We see a lot of these,"
she said.
O'Connor made no mention of the Texas Sodomy case
currently before the court, but the allusion to it was unmistakable. She said
the court was still wrestling with the legacy of race, an issue that occupied
the courts for much of the 20th century.
"I don't know that we've solved everything on the race issue
yet," O'Connor said. "We have to know we haven't, because we have cases at the
court this term dealing with affirmative action in higher education.
"I don't think we've finished, quite, the things from the
last century," she said.
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