NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — You can see Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's legacy on court benches across the country, and particularly in Tennessee, where there's now a record number of women serving as judges.
Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Holly Kirby says O'Connor's impact reached women across the country who aspired to go into law and become judges.
Kirby herself was the first woman ever selected for the Tennessee Court of Appeals in 1995.
Fast forward to last year, when Tennessee voters elected a record number of women judges both in Nashville and across the state as a whole.
Kirby said seeing a justice reach the level O'Connor did inspired her to reach beyond what the norm was decades earlier.
"When I was in college in the late 1970s, I confided to my college boyfriend I wanted someday to be a judge," Kirby said. "He thought it was hilarious. He told his fraternity brothers about it, and they had a big laugh. But it felt preposterous at that time."
Not preposterous anymore, there are now 92 women judges in state and general sessions courts in Tennessee.
This is a story I immediately went home and showed my boys - young athletes with big dreams. The Vanderbilt football team's success has stolen the spotlight - what I love about Steve Layman's story is he reveals the individual hardships it took to get there. As Clark Lea says, "we all have scuff marks." This team proves perseverance pays off!
- Carrie Sharp
