Justice O'Connor brings experience, wisdom to Boston

Invited to sit in during cases at US courthouse

She blazed a trail for women in the legal profession, becoming the first female to serve on the US Supreme Court, but retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor sat mostly in silence yesterday morning as a visiting judge in Federal District Court in South Boston, offering only brief interrogatories while two other panel judges dissected a series of cases.

O'Connor, who was appointed to the highest court of the land by Ronald Reagan in 1981 and served until 2006, mostly took notes yesterday. Her presence seemed to bring out the best from the dozen or so lawyers who argued in front of the three-judge panel, though one appeared to have jitters, often uttering crutch words such as "uh" and "um" and fuddling through portions of his presentation.

While Justice O'Connor was mostly stoic, Judges Michael Boudin and Bruce M. Selya were animated, occasionally interrupting lawyers mid-sentence and rocking back and forth in their chairs.

O'Connor was invited to be a visiting judge by Selya, one of six judges on the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit at the John Joseph Moakley Courthouse. She heard arguments in five cases yesterday and is expected to hear at least that many today, her last day on the panel. O'Connor was invited in part because the court has a heavy caseload.

O'Connor heard cases dealing with copyrights, zoning, and accessory-to-murder charges. In each case, she spoke approximately once. "You didn't give it to the court," she told a lawyer, referring to evidence to support his request for a preliminary injunction.

"It seems as though you have an uphill battle to conclude otherwise," she told another lawyer in a different case dealing with copyright.

Plaintiffs Leo Fayard and his wife, Sara, both 53, said, "It's an honor to have our case heard by her." The couple had brought their contract case to district court, contending a railroad company that built a freight yard near their property in East Brookfield operates 24 hours a day, instead of only during business hours as the company had agreed in their contract.

"We're just seeking to get them to adhere to their agreement," Leo Fayard said. "I feel that with Justice O'Connor hearing this, we will get a fair remedy, not that we wouldn't with another judge." He said he noticed that O'Connor, 78, spoke only a handful of times. "I'm not really sure how she is normally, so maybe that's the way that she operates."

During her time on the Supreme Court, O'Connor was a crucial swing vote for many years. She has served as a visiting judge on federal appeals courts elsewhere, including those based in New York and St. Louis. She will sit on two three-member panels in Boston and will probably write several opinions. She is also expected to meet with staff of the appellate court.

Lawyer Marc DeSisto, arguing a zoning matter before the panel, said he had not prepared differently for his case knowing that he would be in front of O'Connor. "In the First District Court, it is crucial to be precise no matter who the judges are. I'm here about three or four times a year, and every judge that I've appeared in front of has been excellent."

Tom Carey, the founding chair of the Massachusetts Bar Association's Appellate Court Bench Bar Committee, said, "It's always great to have a US Supreme Court justice fulfill this role, but it's not unique. When they sit, they have the full powers of a judge on that panel, and often get assigned the opinion-writing duties. I assume they wouldn't put a heavy burden on her. She has a reputation of being a personable and reasonable judge, but she doesn't pull any punches when she writes opinions."

Carey said the frequency that a visiting judge offers comments or questions during a case depends on that judge's court demeanor, instead of any prescribed role.

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