A black drape hangs over the courtroom door at the Supreme Court as mourners gather on the hallowed steps to pay respects to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Sept. 18 due to complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer. She was 87 years old.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (right) with Doris Patz at the opening of the Nathan Patz Law Center in 2002. Photo credit: Bill McAllen
The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) is also honoring the trailblazing justice, who was the second woman appointed to the court and served more than 27 years.
In a letter to the Maryland law community, Dean Donald B. Tobin, JD, said the late justice was a historic legal figure who made lifelong contributions to women’s rights and gender equality.
“Lawyers and law students will study her decisions and the cases she litigated for decades, and her work both as a litigator and jurist laid the groundwork for a more just and equitable society,” he said.
The justice had a special connection to the law school that began when she attended the opening of the Nathan Patz Law Center in 2002. She also was celebrated in the opera “Scalia/Ginsburg” written by Maryland Carey Law alum Derrick Wang ’13. The opera was inspired by the opinions of Ginsburg and Scalia and the deep friendship that existed between them despite differences in their judicial philosophies.
UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, echoed Tobin’s sentiments in a statement that called the justice a transformative figure who dismantled systemic biases against women.
“Whether it was fighting for equal rights to enter a contract, or recognizing a woman’s right to maintain employment and have children, Justice Ginsburg fought for gender equality and dignity,” said Jarrell.
Maryland Carey Law Associate Professor Natalie Ram, JD, who clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer during the October 2010 Supreme Court term, said she grew up in Ginsburg’s America. “She has really touched the fabric of what it means to be an American woman. You just can't overstate that,” said Ram.
Ram’s recollections were part of a Law School community forum convened to celebrate the life and legacy of the late justice. In addition to Ram, Professors Michael Greenberger, JD; Paula Monopoli, JD; Robert Percival, JD, MA; Mark Graber, JD, PhD; and former Dean Karen Rothenberg, JD, shared personal stories about the justice and her opinions.
Ram recalled sitting in the justice’s chambers during an annual tea she hosted for clerks and being starstruck. “I remember sitting at tea with her and feeling really keenly aware that I was sitting with a living legend.”
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in repose at the Supreme Court of the United States on Wednesday, Sept. 23, and Thursday, Sept. 24. On Friday, Sept. 25, she will be the first woman to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol — an honor befitting her pioneering advocacy of women’s rights.