“On six occasions, she appeared before the Court to present oral argument. She lost just one case. Through her briefs, starting with Reed, she, more than any other lawyer, shaped the legal arguments reflected in the Court’s opinions, earning her the honorific “the Thurgood Marshall of the women’s movement.” WomenOpinionArgumentCourtCaseOral Book:My Own Words Source: My Own Words
“If I resign any time this year, he [President Obama] could not successfully appoint anyone I would like to see in the court. ... [A]nybody who thinks that if I step down, Obama could appoint someone like me, they're misguided.” IfsThinkingYearsLawPoliticsPresidentStepsCourtLike MePresident ObamaMisguided Author:Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“Dissents speak to a future age. It's not simply to say, 'My colleagues are wrong and I would do it this way.' But the greatest dissents do become court opinions and gradually over time their views become the dominant view. So that's the dissenter's hope: that they are writing not for today but for tomorrow.” WayWritingAgeTodaySpeakViewsOpinionTomorrowCourtFreedom Of SpeechDominantColleaguesDissent Book:My Own Words Source: My Own Words
“In sum, the Court's conclusion that a constitutionally adequate recount is impractical is a prophecy the Court's own judgment will not allow to be tested. Such an untested prophecy should not decide the Presidency of the United States.” ShouldStatesUnitedUnited StatesJudgmentCourtConclusionProphecyPresidencyTestedAdequateDissent Author:Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“My rule was I will not answer a question that attempts to project how I will rule in a case that might come before the court.” MightAnswersCasesProjectsCourt Author:Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“As De Tocqueville said, sooner or later in the United States, every controversy ends up in court. I think that's a great - says great things about our judicial system.” ThinkingSaidEndsStatesUnitedUnited StatesCourtGreat ThingsSooner Or LaterControversyJudicialJudicial System Author:Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“My own view, and I've said this many times, is as long as I can do the work full steam, I will stay on the Court. But when I feel myself slipping, when I slow down in my ability to write opinions with fair dispatch, when I forget the names of cases that I once could recite at the drop of a hat, I will know it is time for me to go.” KnowsFeelsWritingLongSaidI CanNamesCan DoMy OwnAbilityForgetViewsOpinionCasesFairsCourtHatsSlow DownSteamSlipping Author:Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“In my view, if the Court had properly interpreted the Second Amendment, the Court would have said that Amendment was very important when the nation was new, it gave a qualified right to keep and bear arms but it was for one purpose only, and that was the purpose of having militiamen who were able to fight to preserve the nation.” IfsSaidImportantAblePurposeFightingNationsViewsArmsBearsCourtPreservesAmendmentsQualifiedSecond Amendment Author:Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“In most civil law systems there are no dissents. There is a single opinion for the court: it is unanimous; it is highly stylized; you can't tell which judge wrote it.” LawOpinionJudgingCourtDissent Author:Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“Legislators know much more about elections than the Court does.” KnowsDoeElectionCourtLegislators Author:Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“I conceived of myself in large part as a teacher. There wasn't a great understanding of gender discrimination. People knew that race discrimination was an odious thing, but there were many who thought that all the gender-based differentials in the law operated benignly in women's favor. So my objective was to take the Court step by step to the realization, in Justice Brennan's words, that the pedestal on which some thought women were standing all too often turned out to be a cage.” PeopleLawUnderstandingJusticeRaceStepsTeacherStandingCourtGenderFavorsDiscriminationObjectivesRealizationCagesPedestalGender Discrimination Author:Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“My dissenting opinions, like my briefs, are intended to persuade. And sometimes one must be forceful about saying how wrong the Court's decision is.” SometimesDecisionOpinionCourt Author:Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“I have yet to see a death case among the dozen coming to the Supreme Court on eve-of-execution stay applications in which the defendant was well represented at trial... People who are well represented at trial do not get the death penalty.” PeopleWellsCasesCourtSupremePunishmentTrialsApplicationDozenExecutionPenaltiesSupreme CourtDeath PenaltyCapital PunishmentAgainst Death Penalty Author:Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“...The Court ...[recognizes]...the persistence of racial inequality and a majority's acknowledgement of Congress's authority to act affirmatively, not only to end discrimination, but also to counteract discrimination's lingering effects. Those effects, reflective of a system of racial caste [legal segregation and discrimination] only recently ended, are evident in our work places, markets, and neighborhoods. Job applicants with identical resumes, qualifications, and interview styles still experience different receptions, depending on their race.” StillsDifferentEndsActionJobsRaceEffectsStyleAuthorityMajorityCourtCongressDiscriminationInequalityPersistenceInterviewsNeighborhoodEvidentSegregationIdenticalQualificationsResumesAffirmative ActionAcknowledgementAffirmativeCastesReceptionLingeringWork Place Author:Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“I am a judge born, raised, and proud of being a Jew. The demand for justice runs through the entirety of the Jewish tradition. I hope, in my years on the bench of the Supreme Court of the United States, I will have the strength and the courage to remain constant in the service of that demand.” YearsStatesRunningBornJusticeUnitedUnited StatesJudgingProudDemandTraditionCourtConstantRaisedJewSupremeSupreme CourtBenchesEntiretyJewish Tradition Author:Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“So now the perception is, yes, women are here to stay. And when I'm sometimes asked when will there be enough [women on the Supreme Court]? And I say when there are nine, people are shocked. But there'd been nine men, and nobody's ever raised a question about that.” PeopleMenSometimesEnoughPerceptionCourtRaisedSupremeNineSupreme CourtShockedCourt Justice Author:Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“I do think that being the second [female Supreme Court Justice] is wonderful, because it is a sign that being a woman in a place of importance is no longer extraordinary.” ThinkingWomenJusticeWonderfulFemaleImportanceCourtExtraordinarySupremeWomens RightsSupreme CourtBeing A WomanSupreme Court JusticeCourt Justice Author:Ruth Bader Ginsburg
