Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life of Influence by Words and Deeds

by Paula Gail Benson

http://www.justjared.com/2020/05/05/supreme-court-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-hospitalized-with-infection/

A few years ago, while I was in San Francisco for a national meeting, I visited a jewelry shop on the first floor of the hotel where I was staying. When the clerks learned I was a lawyer, they told me they wanted me to see a prized possession. They brought out a personal thank you letter signed by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and written on Supreme Court stationery. They were very proud she had done business with their shop.

Since Justice Ginsburg passed away on Friday, many articles and news stories have explored her influence on the law and our society. CNN offered an article with ten of the best Ruth Bader Ginsburg quotations. When asked, “When will there be enough women on the Supreme Court?” she replied, “When there are nine,” pointing out that no one had questioned nine men being on the Court. She paid tribute to her relationship with Martin Ginsburg, a tax lawyer and her spouse of 56 years, by saying true equality between men and women will be achieved when “men share with [women] the responsibility of bringing up the next generation.”

While the CNN article provides spoken comments by Justice Ginsburg, it does not include language from cases that she authored. Some of those statements give additional insight to her character and her influence upon the law.

She dissented in the 2007 decision of Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, where Lilly Ledbetter sued for discrimination because the pay she received was less than that given her male colleagues. The majority opinion found that Ms. Ledbetter failed to timely file her suit. In a rare occurrence, Justice Ginsburg read her dissent from the bench, stating, “In our view, the court does not comprehend, or is indifferent to, the insidious way in which women can be victims of pay discrimination.” Ultimately, Congress amended the law to adopt Justice Ginsburg’s interpretation in the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.

In 2009, when she was the only woman sitting on the Supreme Court, she authored an opinion in Safford Unified School District v. Redding, concurring with the majority that a 13 year old girl’s 4^th amendment rights had been violated when the girl was subjected to a strip search, but agreeing with Justice Stevens’ dissent in how that legal conclusion should have been reached. Justice Ginsburg noted that following the search, “to make matters worse,” the principal made the girl “sit on a chair outside his office for over two hours. At no point did he attempt to call her parent. Abuse of authority of that order should not be shielded by official immunity.”

Debby Levy wrote a children’s book, illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley, titled I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark. That book explains to young people how Justice Ginsburg’s lifetime of learning how to effectively disagree has made a difference in people’s lives.

When the biographical film about her life, On the Basis of Sex, was released a few years ago, my entire office, male and female, went to a showing. Before attending, I read about how the movie came to be made. The screenplay was by Justice Ginsburg’s nephew, Daniel Stiepleman. When he told her about the project, she seemed indifferent, as if questioning why her life would have been of interest. As the film progressed, she provided background information to the writer and actors. She approved of Armie Hammer’s being selected to play her husband Martin. One article indicated that, in a way, she got to spend time with her beloved Marty again as the movie was being made.

I always considered that I attended law school during a time when women were more accepted in the legal community. I actually graduated the same year as Justice Ginsburg’s daughter (different law schools). But, as I watched On the Basis of Sex, I remembered how many times professors gave me frowns for arriving late for class because I had been standing in line for the restroom. When our law school was built in the 1970’s, female students were still in the minority and the restrooms were apportioned based on the lower numbers.

By the end of the movie, tears ran down my face as I realized what Justice Ginsburg had accomplished. So often, Supreme Court Justices labor in secrecy with their work not truly appreciated or evaluated until after they have passed away. I’m grateful that Justice Ginsburg had the opportunity to learn about what her achievements meant to those who benefited from her words and actions.