US Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (3/15/1933-9/18/2020), the unlikely rock star and cultural icon known affectionately as “Notorious RBG,” who loved her family, loved the law, loved the opera, and loved her country (not necessarily in that order), left this earth yesterday. She had just reached the halfway point between 87 and 88.
Words cannot express how her passing saddens me. I never met Justice Ginsburg (though I did see her on the SCOTUS bench on the day I was admitted to practice before SCOTUS), but I certainly knew her. I knew her through the humanity reflected in her decisions. I knew her through her fast friendship with her SCOTUS foil Antonin Scalia. I knew her through the many quips and quotes that trickled down from her lips to the public’s lives. I knew her for the gargantuan impact this tiny woman had on the law and on the world. I miss her. I join the world in praying for her and her family.
One of my cats is named Ginsburg, after her; that cat’s littermate is named after Justice Scalia. When they came into my life two years ago, I thought it would be fun to commemorate that unlikely friendship with these kittens’ names.
I can’t remember the Notorious RBG in any better way than in her own words. CBS News did a good interview with her when she was only 83 years old. Here’s the segment of that interview that is available on YouTube.
Rest in peace, Justice Ginsburg. If anyone deserves a rest, you do. You leave us with one hell of a great legacy.