The rhetoric of dissent in Justice O'Connor's Akron opinion

Abstract

This essay offers a framework for analysis of judicial dissent and examines Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's dissenting opinion in the 1983 abortion decision against that backdrop. In addition to highlighting O'Connor's distinctive defense of personal credibility, emphasis on legal logic, and appeal for reversal of roe V. wade, the study reveals how effectively the value appeals characteristic of judicial rhetoric—democracy, justice, and logic—serve the motives for judicial dissent.