Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the 2nd woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court and is often referred to as the Thurgood Marshall of the Women's Rights movement.

### Born

March 15, 1933
Brooklyn, New York

### Died

September 18, 2020 (aged 87)
Washington, D.C.

### Occupation

U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Civil Rights Attorney
Teacher
Feminist

## Early Life

On March 15, 1933, Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg, nicknamed "Kiki," was born to Nathan and Celia Bader in Brooklyn, New York. Throughout her childhood, her mother Celia taught her to strive for independence and a good education as she herself didn't attend college and worked in a nearby garment factory to pay for her brother's college education. To make her mother proud, she worked diligently and excelled in her studies at James Madison High School. However, Ginsburg's mother battled with cancer throughout her high school years and passed away the day before Ginsburg's high school graduation.

## College and Law School Education

After graduating from James Madison High School, Ginsburg went on to earn her Bachelor's degree in Government from Cornell University in 1954. That same year she married Martin D. Ginsburg. They had their first child, Jane, later that year and shortly after Martin was drafted into the military. After he served for two years they returned to Harvard Law, where Ginsburg learned to balance her law school studies with raising a child. It was also during her time at Harvard that she experienced an incredibly hostile and patriarchal environment as she was one of nine female students in a class of 500. Despite the inherent sexism at the university she excelled in her studies and became the first female member of the Harvard Law Review.

Sadly, Martin contracted testicular cancer in 1956 and required intensive medical care. So during this time, Ginsburg cared for her young daughter, took notes for her husband while he was in the hospital, and continued her own law studies. Martin went into remission and accepted a job at a New York law firm, Ginsburg joined her husband in New York City and transferred to Colombia Law School. At Columbia she was elected to the school's law review and graduated first in her class in 1959.

## Legal Career

Even though Ginsburg had an outstanding academic record she faced severe gender discrimination while she was seeking employment. She eventually clerked for a US District Judge Edmund L. Palmieri between 1959-1961, after, Ginsburg taught at Rutger's University Law School and then at Columbia, where she became the school's first female tenured professor. Also at this time in the 70s, Ginsburg served as the Director of the Women's Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union where she brought six landmark cases to the floor of the Supreme Court.

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter appointed Ginsburg to the US Court of Appeals for DC, she served in the Court of Appeals until President Bill Clinton appointed her to the US Supreme Court in 1993. During her time on the Supreme Court, she has been a staunch supporter of equal rights and has become one of the Great Dissenters in Supreme Court history as the Court's makeup gradually becomes more conservative.

## Notable Cases

Weinberger v. Weisenfeld (1974)- Ruled that the gender-based distinction in Social Security was unconstitutional, and parents can receive benefits to care for their children regardless of their gender.

Frontiero v. Richardson (1976)- Ruled that requiring different qualification criteria for male and female military spousal dependency was unconstitutional.

Duren v. Missouri (1978)- Ruled that exempting women from jury duty was unconstitutional and that juries must be a "fair cross-section of their community".

United States v. Virginia (1999)- The Supreme Court struck down the male-only admission policy at the Virginia Military Institute as it violated the 14th amendment's Equal Protection Clause.

## Criticisms

While Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been a strong supporter of equal rights and gay marriage, she received severe criticism following her comments on Colin Kaepernick's National Anthem Protest. When questioned by Yahoo News Anchor, Katie Couric, what she thought of said protest she responded with, “I think it’s really dumb of them. Would I arrest them for doing it? No. I think it’s dumb and disrespectful.” She later apologized for her remarks.

## References

* Hauser, Christine. “Ruth Bader Ginsburg Calls Colin Kaepernick's National Anthem Protest 'Dumb'.” *The New York Times*, The New York Times, 11 Oct. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/10/12/us/ruth-bader-ginsburg-calls-colin-kaepernicks-national-anthem-protest-dumb.html.
* “Ruth Bader Ginsburg.” *Biography.com*, A&E Networks Television, 13 Mar. 2018, www.biography.com/people/ruth-bader-ginsburg-9312041.
* “{{Meta.pageTitle}}.” *{{Meta.siteName}}*, www.oyez.org/justices/ruth\_bader\_ginsburg.
* “United States v. Virginia.” *Wikipedia*, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Apr. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United\_States\_v.\_Virginia.
* Hirshman, Linda R. *Sisters in Law: How Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World*. Harper Perennial, 2016.