Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been called frail, old, and too old for her job on the Supreme Court. Don't tell her that. "I’m feeling fine," she said crediting her trainer during a February 23 appearance at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. "I'll do this job as long as I can do it at full speed." At 83 her voice may be soft, but her words are strong.
Justice Ginsburg is a judicial pioneer who became the second female justice on the Supreme Court when she was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993. As a powerful legal advocate for women’s equality, gender and racial equality throughout her career, she has now sits on the bench with Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. "Three women on the court makes a great difference,” she told her audience. “We're one third of the Court and it looks like we're there to stay. Now school children can visit the court and say this is something to which I can aspire."
In the world of formality that the Supreme Court of the United States inhabits, Justice Ginsburg's university stage provided a more casual setting for some serious thoughts that were frequently intertwined with personal anecdotes.
Ginsburg made no direct mention of President Donald Trump or his immigration policies, but made clear how she feels. "We are not as mindful of what makes America great. One example is the right to speak one’s mind, and the idea of our nation being receptive to all, welcoming all people." She added, "The notion that in our nation we are many and yet we are one." That last comment reads as if it were part of a Supreme Court decision.
With Trump's executive order banning travel from seven Muslim countries now temporarily stopped by a federal court order, the role the courts will play on immigration has just begun. Justice Ginsburg provided an important clue should the case reach the Supreme Court.
She spoke warmly of her own heritage as a direct example of personal experience concerning immigration. “I am the beneficiary myself of my father being able to leave the Old World where the conditions were not good, to come here and make a living and raise a family,” Ginsburg said. “That is America to me.” Using her personal experiences to make an important point, we began to see, in part, how she shapes her opinions.
As for the President's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch, she was once again surprisingly candid saying, "I've worked with him and I think he's very easy to get along with." She then paused before adding, "He writes very well." Justice Ginsburg's voice trailed off, and it was clear that the sentence was ended at that point very purposely.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg left the stage to a rousing round of applause. It was a pleasure spending part of the afternoon with her. She is, after all, “The Notorious R.B.G.”