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Ruth Bader Ginsburg Tag

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg remains hospitalized after she fell in her office, which caused her to break three ribs. From USA Today:
Ginsburg, 85, went home after the fall but continued to experience "discomfort overnight" and went to George Washington Hospital early Thursday. Tests revealed she fractured three ribs and she "was admitted for observation and treatment," according to the statement.

During a discussion at Columbia University, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg blamed a "macho atmosphere" and rampant sexism for Hillary Clinton's 2016 electoral loss. "I think it was difficult for Hillary Clinton to get by even the macho atmosphere prevailing during that campaign, and she was criticized in a way I think no man would have been criticized," she said. "I think anyone who watched that campaign unfold would answer it the same way I did -- Yes, sexism played a prominent part."

Donald Trump's second Executive Order on visa entry from six majority Muslim countries is now before the Supreme Court. Trump is seeking review of the 4th Circuit's decision upholding a Maryland District Court injunction halting the Executive Order. In addition to the Petition for  a Writ of Certiorari asking SCOTUS to hear the case on the merits, Trump has a request for a stay of the lower court injunctions pending a decision on the merits. The application is on a fast track, with the Court setting June 12 as the deadline for opposition papers. The 4th Circuit's decision found that the Executive Order, though facially neutral, "in context drips with religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination" and that context was "a backdrop of public statements by the President and his advisors and representatives at different points in time, both before and after the election and President Trump’s assumption of office."

Conservatives had a tough go 'round at the Supreme Court this term. Obamacare, gay marriage, and questionable disparate impact analyses were all propped up by a divided court, causing prominent pundits to question the state of the Court, the wisdom of lifetime appointments, and the intentions of Republican-appointed Anthony Kennedy. The Court, for all its successes and failings, serves as both beacon and barometer for the general population. While lawyers pour over briefs and opinions, and argue about pendulums, most people swallow up on-site media reports and adjust their attitudes according to which justice said what. Mainstream SCOTUS watching, then, has become less of an intellectual exercise, and more of an exercise in pop culture fandom---which has had more of an effect on the Court than you would think. During a recent interview with NPR, liberal justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg offered some insight into the Court's left wing, and described how her colleagues maximize the impact of their opinions---even when they find themselves in the minority, as they did in the landmark Bush v. Gore. Via NPR:
The time pressure in the [Bush v. Gore] case was excruciating, with the court issuing an opinion just a day after oral arguments, and, as Ginsburg put it, the four liberal members of the court "were unable to get together and write one opinion." Indeed, each wrote a separate dissent, resulting in such confusion that, as she pointed out, some early press accounts erroneously reported that the decision was 7-2, not as it in fact was, 5-4. After that experience, "we agreed," said Ginsburg, that "when we are in that situation again, let's be in one opinion." It's important, she added, because the public and the lower courts need to know what the court has done or not done. And neither lawyers nor judges will stick with opinions that go on and on.

One of the most interesting developments in the recent media spin cycle is the renewed fascination---on both the left and the right---with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Ginsburg has been in the national spotlight since her appointment in 1993; her tenure on the Court has afforded her the opportunity to become one of the most influential figureheads in the fight for gender equality and expanded "reproductive rights." Influential, and polarizing. We can't stop talking about her, whether it be about her opinions, her tendency to snooze during the State of the Union, or---most importantly, in some circles---her eventual retirement. In a recent interview with MSNBC, Irin Camron wasted no time in coaxing Ginsburg into answering the one question liberals can't help but flogging every time they get near a member of the Court---how long does Ginsburg plan on sticking around? They're worried, of course, because timing is key when it comes to Supreme Court appointments. Right now the left's worst nightmare is that the next retirement will coincide with a Republican presidency. Ginsburg's history of health problems---colorectal cancer in 1999, and a tumor in her pancreas in 2009---has become a real hobgoblin for SCOTUS watchers, who understand the difference one seat can make when major issues such as gay marriage, abortion, or election law are on the line. Talking heads have picked up on the tension. Check out Maddow's heightened level of concern (via MRC):

We've already talked about how Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg stole the show at this year's State of the Union address---mostly because the entire internet was 90% sure they caught her during the action: As it turns out, she wasn't merely napping---she was fighting back the effects of a fine California vino. From TPM:
"The audience for the most part is awake because they're bobbing up and down all the time. And we sit there, stone faced, the sober judges," Ginsburg said. "But we're not, at least I was not, 100 percent sober." She explained that the justices have dinner together before the annual speech, which she said Scalia hadn't attended in several years, and that Justice Anthony Kennedy brought along a bottle of California wine that was just too good to resist. "I vowed this year -- just sparkling water, stay away from the wine -- but in the end the dinner was so delicious it needed wine to accompany it."
Watch:

First, she came prepared with her hometown paper. You know, just in case she got bored:

Then, she got to enjoy the company of her coworkers.

But since this year's State of the Union address was just like every.other.state.of.the.union.address President Obama has given, Ginsberg decided to take a beat mid-speech. Being a Supreme Court Justice is hard work, you know.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has a great intellect, but her interview with The New York Times on the issue of foreign law reveals a view of the role of the Court which is odd.The controversy surrounding citing foreign law and foreign judicial decisions...