NEW VOICES: Justice O’Connor Stresses Importance of International Law

During a speech hosted by the Southern Center for International Studies in Atlanta, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor stressed the importance of international law for American courts and the need for the United States to create a more favorable impression abroad. She cited recent Supreme Court cases, including the Court’s ruling to ban the execution of those with mental retardation, that illustrate the increased willingness of U.S. courts to take international law into account. “I suspect that over time we will rely increasingly, or take notice at least increasingly, on international and foreign courts in examining domestic issues.” O’Connor noted that doing so “may not only enrich our own country’s decisions, I think it may create that all important good impression.” (World Net Daily, October 31, 2003) See International Death Penalty.