Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman to serve as a justice on the US Supreme Court, wielded enormous influence as the key centrist on a sharply divided bench, where she often displayed a preference for pragmatism over ideology.
Once spoken of as the most powerful woman in America, O'Connor often confounded both her critics and supporters during her nearly 25-year tenure on the nation's high court, refusing to be pigeonholed by the left or the right.
