Public Figure Profiles

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( BAY-dər GHINZ-burg; née Bader; March 15, 1933 – September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton to replace retiring justice Byron White, and at the time was generally viewed as a moderate consensus-builder. She eventually became part of the liberal wing of the Court as the Court shifted to the right over time. Ginsburg was the first Jewish woman and the second woman to serve on the Court, after Sandra Day O'Connor. During her tenure, Ginsburg wrote notable majority opinions, including United States v. Virginia (1996), Olmstead v. L.C. (1999), Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc. (2000), and City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York (2005).

Ginsburg was born and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Her older sister died when she was a baby, and her mother died shortly before Ginsburg graduated from high school. She earned her bachelor's degree at Cornell University and married Martin D. Ginsburg, becoming a mother before starting law school at Harvard, where she was one of the few women in her class. Ginsburg transferred to Columbia Law School, where she graduated joint first in her class. During the early 1960s she worked with the Columbia Law School Project on International Procedure, learned Swedish, and co-authored a book with Swedish jurist Anders Bruzelius; her work in Sweden profoundly influenced her thinking on gender equality. She then became a professor at Rutgers Law School and Columbia Law School, teaching civil procedure as one of the few women in her field.

Ginsburg spent much of her legal career as an advocate for gender equality and women's rights, winning many arguments before the Supreme Court. She advocated as a volunteer attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union and was a member of its board of directors and one of its general counsel in the 1970s. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter appointed her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where she served until her appointment to the Supreme Court in 1993. Between O'Connor's retirement in 2006 and the appointment of Sonia Sotomayor in 2009, she was the only female justice on the Supreme Court. During that time, Ginsburg became more forceful with her dissents, notably in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (2007). Ginsburg's dissenting opinion was credited with inspiring the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act which was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2009, making it easier for employees to win pay discrimination claims. Ginsburg received attention in American popular culture for her passionate dissents in numerous cases, widely seen as reflecting paradigmatically liberal views of the law. She was dubbed "The Notorious R.B.G.", and she later embraced the moniker.Despite two bouts with cancer and public pleas from liberal law scholars, she decided not to retire in 2013 or 2014 when Democrats could appoint her successor. Ginsburg died at her home in Washington, D.C., on September 18, 2020, at the age of 87, from complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer. The vacancy created by her death was filled 39 days later by Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative. The appointment of Barrett was one of three major rightward shifts in the Court since 1953, following the appointment of Clarence Thomas to replace Thurgood Marshall in 1991 and the appointment of Warren Burger to replace Earl Warren in 1969.

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Some of their strengths

Ruth Bader Ginsburg has many admirable traits.

Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Energetic, Imaginative, Compassionate, Loyal, Caring, Selfless, and Soulful.

Soulful and Understanding

According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is someone who is a soulful, understanding, and conscious person, who combines smarts with a deep talent for creativity and imagination. A person who sees life as a journey not a destination.

Active and Precise

Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know Ruth Bader Ginsburg well know them as someone who can be tough, active, and sharp, like a sword.

Inventive and Clever

According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe Ruth Bader Ginsburg as someone who is flexible, intelligent, and quick-witted.

A person who likes to be creative, and to be recognized for their artistic talents. Who possesses intelligence, mental discipline, and ambition, and who does well in relationships and partnerships.

Influential and Dynamic

Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is someone who tends to be focused on spreading ideas, information, and activities.

They are also someone who is confident and creative, and who has a love for starting new projects, inventing new things, and giving back to the community.

Creative and Imaginative

According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, Ruth Bader Ginsburg tends to be someone who is sensitive, imaginative, creative, and somewhat of a dreamer. Who is intuitive and compassionate, and who has a friendly, easygoing, calming and relaxing effect on people and for whom friends and family mean the world.

Some of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's challenges

While Ruth Bader Ginsburg has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.

For example, Ruth Bader Ginsburg can be Indecisive, Unrealistic, Complicated, Brusque, Emotional, Standoffish, and Unfocused.

Indecisive and Unrealistic

One of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's key challenges is that they are someone who can come across as indecisive and unrealistic.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg must also exercise caution as they can be excessive and unrealistic.

Unfocused and Indecisive

Ruth Bader Ginsburg is someone who can be scattered, restless, and insensitive, be distracted by fluctuating professional interests, be a workaholic, and who can be arrogant and have difficulty accepting advice.

Lethargic and Unrealistic

Finally, Ruth Bader Ginsburg also can be too soft, lazy and lethargic, and who can have difficulty finding others who share a similarly dreamy outlook on life.

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