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Goodbye Ruth
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dead at 87
David Knowles
David Knowles·Editor
Fri, September 18, 2020, 7:40 PM EDT
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg smiles during a reception at the University of Buffalo School of Law in Buffalo, New York, U.S., Aug. 26, 2019. (REUTERS/Lindsay DeDario)
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the liberal justice who was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1999, passed away Friday, the court announced in a statement.
Ginsburg, a liberal lion of the court, who was nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1993, was 87 years old.
Before her death, Ginsburg dictated a to her granddaughter Clara Spera. “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new President is installed,” she wrote.
The decision to fill the vacancy now enters the hyperpartisan atmosphere of the 2020 race, with just weeks before the Nov. 3 election.
In February, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that if a Supreme Court seat opened up this year, “we would fill it.”
In 2016, McConnell refused to bring up President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, for a vote to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, with the justification that “this nomination ought to be made by the president we're in the process of electing this year."
After his election to the presidency later that year, President Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch, another conservative, to fill the vacancy. Gorscuch’s nomination was confirmed by the Senate in April 2017.
In a speech in 2018 McConnell recounted that "One of my proudest moments was when I looked Barack Obama in the eye and I said, 'Mr. President, you will not fill the Supreme Court vacancy.'"
On Sept. 9, President Trump announced a number of new names to his long list of possible Supreme Court nominees, including Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Tom Cotton of Arkansas.
While it remains to be seen whether Trump will try to fill Ginsburg’s seat before the end of the year, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, told reporters that she would not confirm a new justice until after a new president is inaugurated next January.
Republicans still control the Senate with a slim 52 to 48 majority. But Ginsburg’s death will now become a dominant issue heading into the election, and is certain to mobilize liberal and conservative voters alike heading into November.
Throughout her career, Ginsburg was a leading advocate for gender equality and civil rights.
“Women’s rights are an essential part of the overall human rights agenda, trained on the equal dignity and ability to live in freedom all people should enjoy,” Ginsburg said.
After growing up in Brooklyn, Ginsburg attended Columbia Law School, graduating in 1959 at the top of her class. She went to take a job at Rutgers Law School in 1963, and received her first judicial appointment in 1980.
This is a developing story.
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David Knowles
David Knowles·Editor
Fri, September 18, 2020, 7:40 PM EDT
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg smiles during a reception at the University of Buffalo School of Law in Buffalo, New York, U.S., Aug. 26, 2019. (REUTERS/Lindsay DeDario)
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the liberal justice who was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1999, passed away Friday, the court announced in a statement.
Ginsburg, a liberal lion of the court, who was nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1993, was 87 years old.
Before her death, Ginsburg dictated a to her granddaughter Clara Spera. “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new President is installed,” she wrote.
The decision to fill the vacancy now enters the hyperpartisan atmosphere of the 2020 race, with just weeks before the Nov. 3 election.
In February, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that if a Supreme Court seat opened up this year, “we would fill it.”
In 2016, McConnell refused to bring up President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, for a vote to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, with the justification that “this nomination ought to be made by the president we're in the process of electing this year."
After his election to the presidency later that year, President Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch, another conservative, to fill the vacancy. Gorscuch’s nomination was confirmed by the Senate in April 2017.
In a speech in 2018 McConnell recounted that "One of my proudest moments was when I looked Barack Obama in the eye and I said, 'Mr. President, you will not fill the Supreme Court vacancy.'"
On Sept. 9, President Trump announced a number of new names to his long list of possible Supreme Court nominees, including Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Tom Cotton of Arkansas.
While it remains to be seen whether Trump will try to fill Ginsburg’s seat before the end of the year, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, told reporters that she would not confirm a new justice until after a new president is inaugurated next January.
Republicans still control the Senate with a slim 52 to 48 majority. But Ginsburg’s death will now become a dominant issue heading into the election, and is certain to mobilize liberal and conservative voters alike heading into November.
Throughout her career, Ginsburg was a leading advocate for gender equality and civil rights.
“Women’s rights are an essential part of the overall human rights agenda, trained on the equal dignity and ability to live in freedom all people should enjoy,” Ginsburg said.
After growing up in Brooklyn, Ginsburg attended Columbia Law School, graduating in 1959 at the top of her class. She went to take a job at Rutgers Law School in 1963, and received her first judicial appointment in 1980.
This is a developing story.
YAHOO LINK
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