Ruth Bader Ginsburg changed the world. Born and raised in Brooklyn, she was a first-generation American on her father’s side, and barely a second-generation on her mother’s. She dedicated much of her life to realizing the United States Constitution’s promise of equality under the law, especially for women. When she began that work in the 1970s, the law discriminated against women in myriad ways. Hundreds of state and federal laws restricted what women could do, barring them from all manner of jobs, rights, and even jury service. As a lawyer, she helped devise and implement the successful effort to challenge those laws in court, dismantling systems of discrimination, and opening up opportunities for all persons to achieve their full human potential. She continued to advance those goals during her historic forty years of service as a federal judge, first on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and then on the Supreme Court of the United States.
When Justice Ginsburg was confirmed to the Supreme Court in 1993, she became the second woman ever to serve on that Court. Over the next twenty-seven years, she left an indelible mark on the law in countless ways. In her judicial writings, she emphasized that “[a] prime part of the history of our Constitution ... is the story of the extension of constitutional rights and protections to people once ignored or excluded,” and she insisted that that process remain ongoing. She was unwaveringly committed to the idea that all persons should be afforded what she called “equal citizenship stature” under the Constitution. And she was dedicated to opening up access to the justice system so that “the least shall be heard and considered side by side with the greatest,” to holding the government and other powerful actors accountable under the law, and to understanding how the Court’s work affected people’s everyday lives.
In her time on the Court, Justice Ginsburg won many victories in landmark cases. But as the Court grew more conservative in her later years, her most notable opinions were sharp dissents. By the time she reached her late 80s, she had become – to her astonishment and pleasure – something of a celebrity to people of all ages. She was the subject of a hit documentary, as well as a biopic, an operetta, merchandise featuring her “Notorious RBG” moniker, a Time magazine cover, and regular Saturday Night Live sketches.
As the first Jewish female member of the Supreme Court, Justice Ginsburg often commented on how her life’s work aligned with the way in which the “demand for justice runs through the entirety of the Jewish tradition.” She displayed on the walls of her chambers an artistic rendering of the Torah’s command, “justice, justice thou shalt pursue,” a charge that inspired her in everything she did. Her unmatched legacy will surely inspire generations to come.