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