In memoriam: women’s rights champion Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman to sit on the US Supreme Court, passed away on Friday, September 18, due to complications from pancreatic cancer.
The outspoken advocate and champion of women's rights and civil liberties died at her home in Washington, DC, aged 87.
Ginsburg, who also ruled on major IP cases, had become an icon in her 80s—she was the subject of a hit documentary and a biopic, alongside embracing her nickname "Notorious RBG" (a nod to the late rapper The Notorious BIG).
Before being appointed to the Supreme Court, she won major gender discrimination cases before it. Ginsburg made her first successful argument before the Supreme Court in 1971, filing the lead brief in Reed v Reed, a case which examined whether men could be automatically preferred over women as estate executors.
Siding with Ginsburg, this marked the first time the court had struck down a law because of gender-based discrimination.
Ginsburg was also instrumental in launching the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union in 1972. That same year, she became the first tenured female professor at Columbia Law School.
Throughout her life, Ginsburg advocated for women’s rights. When asked when there will be enough women judges on the Supreme Court bench, Ginsburg had a direct answer: “When there are nine.”
In 1993, she was appointed by President Bill Clinton, becoming the second woman to sit on the Supreme Court’s bench, after Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
Chief Justice John Roberts said: “Our nation has lost a jurist of historic stature. We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her—a tireless and resolute champion of justice.”
Serving more than 27 years as a justice, Ginsburg certainly made her mark, issuing forceful dissents and serving as a counterbalance to the court, which slanted in favour of the conservative justices, following US President Donald Trump’s appointments of Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
IP cases
Ginsburg’s legacy also includes significant IP decisions. In June this year, Ginsburg authored the highly-anticipated Booking.com decision. Last year, she delivered the court’s opinion in copyright dispute Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corporation v Wall-Street.com.
According to NPR, in the days before her passing, Ginsburg dictated this statement to her granddaughter Clara Spera: “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”
Her death will have profound consequences for the court and the country. Trump has reportedly pledged to nominate a woman to replace Ginsburg and swear them in without delay, before the presidential election.
Democratic rival Joe Biden has claimed the move is an abuse of power, urging Senate Republicans to delay a confirmation vote.
In responding to the news, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, US representative for New York's 14th congressional district, said: “It is heartbreaking that in her final moments she was, as are many others, preoccupied with what would happen after her passing. I want to make one thing clear: we can, and must, fight.”
The WIPR team sends our heartfelt condolences to Justice Bader Ginsburg's family and friends.
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