WASHINGTON -- The July 1 announcement by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor that she is retiring marks the end of a distinguished 24-year career, and the beginning of a crucial struggle by President George W. Bush to find a replacement.

O'Connor came to the court as the nation's first female Supreme Court justice, and as a nominee of President Ronald Reagan. She is a workaholic, a baseball fan, an avid golfer, an excellent dancer, and is inherently nice.

During her service on the court, she has showed a good bit of individualism, often crossing between the coalitions on the court to fine-tune decisions that made sense even if they weren't always considered politically correct or ideologically pure by her sponsors.