Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Has Died Governor Cooper Orders US and NC Flags to Half-Staff Until Her Internment

Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died last night. She was 87 years old.

Governor Roy Cooper today ordered all United States and North Carolina flags at state facilities to remain lowered to half-staff until sunset on the date of internment in honor of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who passed away Friday. An updated notification will be sent once the date of internment has been established.

Ginsburg was a feminist icon to many, dedicating her life to public service and advocacy for social justice and gender equality. She was the second woman appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States, where she served for more than 27 years.

Statement from Governor Roy Cooper:

"The country has lost a fervent icon of equal rights in the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a legal pioneer for women's rights who insisted on fair treatment for all. Our hearts are with her family and her fellow justices on the Supreme Court. The Court must continue her legacy of justice and fairness."

As a show of respect, individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government subdivisions are encouraged to fly the flag at half-staff for the duration of time indicated.

Please note, all North Carolina flag announcements are issued in accordance to regulations outlined in the US Flag Code. 

 

Press Release from the Supreme Court:

Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died this evening surrounded by her family at her home in Washington, D.C., due to complications of metastatic pancreas cancer. She was 87 years old. Justice Ginsburg was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Clinton in 1993. She was the second woman appointed to the Court and served more than 27 years. She is survived by her two children: Jane Carol Ginsburg (George Spera) and James Steven Ginsburg (Patrice Michaels), four grandchildren: Paul Spera (Francesca Toich), Clara Spera (Rory Boyd), Miranda Ginsburg, Abigail Ginsburg, two step-grandchildren: Harjinder Bedi, Satinder Bedi, and one great-grandchild: Lucrezia Spera. Her husband, Martin David Ginsburg, died in 2010.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. said of Justice Ginsburg: “Our Nation has lost a jurist of historic stature. We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her -- a tireless and resolute champion of justice.”

Justice Ginsburg was born in Brooklyn, New York, March 15, 1933. She married Martin D. Ginsburg in 1954. She received her B.A. from Cornell University, attended Harvard Law School, and received her LL.B. from Columbia Law School. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Edmund L. Palmieri, Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, from 1959–1961. From 1961–1963, she was a research associate and then associate director of the Columbia Law School Project on International Procedure. She was a Professor of Law at Rutgers University School of Law from 1963–1972, and Columbia Law School from 1972–1980, and a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, California from 1977–1978. In 1971, she was instrumental in launching the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, and served as the ACLU’s General Counsel from 1973–1980, and on the National Board of Directors from 1974–1980. She was appointed a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1980. During her more than 40 years as a Judge and a Justice, she was served by 159 law clerks.

While on the Court, the Justice authored My Own Words (2016), a compilation of her speeches and writings.

A private interment service will be held at Arlington National Cemetery.



BIOGRAPHY

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice, was born in Brooklyn, New York, March 15, 1933. She married Martin D. Ginsburg in 1954, and has a daughter, Jane, and a son, James. She received her B.A. from Cornell University, attended Harvard Law School, and received her LL.B. from Columbia Law School. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Edmund L. Palmieri, Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, from 1959–1961. From 1961–1963, she was a research associate and then associate director of the Columbia Law School Project on International Procedure. She was a Professor of Law at Rutgers University School of Law from 1963–1972, and Columbia Law School from 1972–1980, and a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, California from 1977–1978. In 1971, she was instrumental in launching the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, and served as the ACLU’s General Counsel from 1973–1980, and on the National Board of Directors from 1974–1980. She was appointed a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1980. President Clinton nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and she took her seat August 10, 1993.



POSSIBLE NOMINEES


Last week, the President released a list of people that he said would be the top of his list to take any vacant Supreme Court seat. The list surprised everyone, including some of the people on the list. It included seven federal appeals court justices and two U.S. senators. The list includes:

• Amy Coney Barrett, a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Barrett is the first and only woman to occupy an Indiana seat on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Amul Roger Thapar, a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
• Mike Lee, a United States Senator from Utah. A conservative, libertarian-leaning Republican, Lee has served in the Senate since January 3, 2011.
• Bridget Bade, a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
• Daniel Cameron, the Kentucky Attorney General and former legal counsel to McConnell.
• Tom Cotton, U.S. senator from Arkansas who said after Trump named him that if he was ever placed on the Supreme Court he would seek to overturn Roe v. Wade.
• Paul Clement, an attorney who previously served as Solicitor General of the United States and has argued over 100 cases before the Supreme Court.
• Ted Cruz, a U.S. Senator from Texas who has alternated between staunch Trump foe to occasional ally.
• Stuart Kyle Duncan, judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
• Steven Engel, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel of the United States Department of Justice.
• Noel Francisco, the former Solicitor General of the United States.
• Josh Hawley, U.S. senator for the state of Missouri. Hawley tweeted that he has “no interest in the high court” and will “look forward to confirming constitutional conservatives” as a member of the senate.
• James Ho, judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
• Gregory Katsas, judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
• Barbara Lagoa, judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
• Christopher Landau, U.S. ambassador to Mexico.
• Carlos Muñiz, justice on the Supreme Court of Florida.
• Martha Pacold, judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
• Peter Phipps, judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
• Sarah Pitlyk, judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
• Allison Jones Rushing, judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
• Kate Todd, deputy assistant to the president and deputy counsel to the president.
• Lawrence VanDyke, judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.



The Supreme Court website has an extensive list of Frequently asked questions and answers about the nomination process on their website. [LINK]

Read more about the death and its implications for the 2020 Presidential Election at the following links:

Howe on the Court [LINK]

POLITICO: "What's next in the Senate's colossal Supreme Court fight" [LINK]

POLITICO: "How RBG's death will impact hot-button issues before the Supreme Court" [LINK]

POLITICO: "McConnell Pursues Scorched-Earth Tactics on Ground That is Already Scorched" [LINK]

MSN [LINK]

Fox News [LINK]

ABC [LINK]

NBC [LINK]

New York Times: "Will the Election Turn on R.B.G.?" [LINK]

Constitution Center: "Why does the Supreme Court have nine Justices?" [LINK]



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Published at 2:15am on Saturday, September 19, 2020