LANSING ? Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issued the following statement on the death of retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O?Connor:

?The death of retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O?Connor, the first woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, marks the passing of a trailblazer in the field of law who inspired a generation of women to choose the law as a profession.? My heartfelt condolences go out to her family and loved ones.??

O?Connor was appointed to the Court in 1981, nominated by President Ronald Reagan. She retired from the Court in 2006. After retirement, she continued to hear cases in federal appellate courts around the nation and provide more than a dozen decisions. She also filled in as a substitute judge when absences or vacancies left their three-member panels shorthanded.?