Unknown Speaker
And appellate levels in our home state of Arizona and who became the first woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Unknown Speaker
Thank you.

Sandra Day O'Connor [automatically transcribed, may contain inaccuracies]
Thank you, Larry. It is a real treat to be here tonight with so many luminaries from the state court system, mile home. And Chief Judge Peters Chief Justice Peters is going to be remembered for many things. For her life as a legal scholar, as an author, as a state Supreme Court Chief Justice as a member and volunteer for many charitable organizations, and she's also going to be remembered as an uncommon Lee nice person, as a loving wife and mother and as a friend. And today, we know two new jobs for which Chief Justice Peters will be remembered as chair of the board of directors of the National Center for state courts, which sponsors this dinner. And as President of the conference of Chief Justices. Now, Ellen ash Peterson, I have something in common. We were born within five days of each other. I'm not telling you who's older. Born in Berlin, I am El Paso, Texas. We have something else in common. Each of us has an absolutely wonderful husband. And my husband and Ellen's husband are members of the same fraternity. And Philip stand up nobody has pointed to recognize.

As a former state court judge, I have a strong appreciation for the complex that TM the delicacy of the relationship between the federal and the state courts. Chief Justice Peters brings enormous talent and experience to the task of making a success of this strange system of ours with duels. systems of state and federal courts. She brings to bear on it not only her powerful intellect, but her 16 some odd years of experience on the Connecticut Supreme Court. The state court says, you know, have the primary role in our federal system. The vast bulk of all civil and criminal litigation in this country is handled in the state courts. In 1990, more than 18 million civil lawsuits, and 13 million criminal actions, not including juvenile and traffic charges were filed in the 50 state court systems and the District of Columbia. By comparison, only 217,000 civil and 48,900 criminal actions were filed in the federal district courts that same year Not counting bankruptcy filings. Now important to a fair portrait of our dual system of courts is the influence that law from one judicial system can have on administrating justice and the other state law, for instance, plays a significant role in federal court actions, largely through diversity jurisdiction and through the doctrine of pendant jurisdiction. State courts also play a very significant role in interpreting and applying federal law. Day in and day out, state courts are applying the Federal Constitution in the multitude of state criminal prosecutions they have the federal law is developed and interpreted by all the 50 state court systems. Now what does Ellen ash Peters bring to this task? She She has described herself this way, as a generalist, a utility infielder, a part time politician and a combination theorist pragmatist because as she puts it, just about any cases distinguishable, and just about any statute is ambiguous. She has a great deal of sympathy for the judicial philosophy of making haste slowly so as to create an opportunity for legislators legislative re entry into principled political decision making. As Chief Justice she's learned to recognize the wisdom of trying to build into our system, continuing gradual and incremental mode of dealing with new legal challenges to search for a fit Between the law that was and the law that will be. Chief Justice Peters has predicted that by the end of this century, and I think it's already happened, the legal landscape and state courts will be one and which statutes of one kind or another or the dominant features on the map. She says that the burgeoning statute books will challenge lawyers and judges alike to hone their presently underdeveloped interpretive skills. For her part, Ellen Peters believes that common law courts have a responsibility to read statutes contextually as well as literally,

as she says we do better to recognize candidly, that common law developments and statutes are equally important constituent elements that a court must attempt to fuse In order to serve the interests of justice, not only does she believe that tenants of the common law inform statutory construction, she thinks that statutes elucidate the common law as well. She cites the example of OSHA statutes that shed light on common law negligence, by constituting evidence of the standard of care required at the workplace. Chief Justice Peters has recognized the complexity and the uncertainty of the law. As she describes it, the pervasiveness of uncertainty in the law is not merely the fabrication of esoteric academic minds, but is crucial to our understanding of what law can or cannot do. uncertain uncertainty creates a window of opportunity for that continual renewal and development of the law. uncertainty in her view translates into possibility. If the law is a vehicle for improving society, its gains accrue slowly and temperate Lee. To be sure, courts that times can and must resolve difficult questions when political processes are unresponsive, but their contributions should be designed to fill the void left by the legislature, not to supplant the legislature all together. If courts venture too far from the policies of the people, Chief Justice Peters reminds us the legislature is free to act and will retain the last word. So as you can see, Ellen ash Peters is particularly well equipped to contribute to this journey. enterprise we have called federalism to help make the state courts strong enable partners in the marriage between federal and state courts. We applaud you, Ellen. And we wish you well in these two new ventures, each of which is positioned to provide leadership to all 50 state court systems. Thank you for letting us share this evening with you