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ID DATA

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Supreme Court Associate Justice

Deeply committed to women's rights and civil liberties.

Age at Oath: 60
Senate Vote: 96-3
Ginsburg was Clinton's first choice for Supreme Court nominee.
She loves the opportunities she has to address the public in speeches.

Personal Life

Joan Ruth Bader was born on March 15, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York, where she was raised. She was the second daughter to Nathan Bader and Celia Amster. Her older sister died before she started school, leaving Ruth an only child. The Baders lived in a Brooklyn neighborhood consisting mainly of poor, working-class Jewish, Italian and Irish immigrants.

Celia, who nicknamed her daughter "Kiki" over Nathan's objections, took an active role in her daughter's education. She taught her daughter the value of independence and a good education, taking her to the library often and applying for scholarships that would allow "Kiki" to attend college.

Pushing ahead despite hardship.

Ginsburg heeded her mother's advice and worked hard at school. Classmates remember her in different ways, some recalling her beauty and popularity, leading to a spot on the twirling squad. Others remember her as overly competitive to the point of annoyance. Hidden from Ruth's high school classmates was the fact that her mother had cancer. Mrs. Bader passed away the day before graduation, forcing Ruth to withdraw from giving the salutatorian speech she had planned for months.She graduated sixth in her class, and although invited, she did not attend the "Forum of Honor."

Mrs.Bader left Ruth a relatively large sum of $8,000 to pay for college. However, Ginsburg had earned enough scholarships by that time, she was able to support herself. Instead, she gave most of the money to her father.

Intermission for the draft.

At Cornell, she began dating Martin Ginsburg, her future husband. Martin enrolled at Harvard Law School after graduating while Ruth completed her senior year at Cornell. Halfway through the year, he received his draft notice. Ruth graduated first in her class, then the young couple married and moved to Fort Sill near Lawton, Oklahoma in 1954, where Martin was stationed. After his discharge two years later, they returned to Harvard, where Ruth also enrolled in law school.

Fighting sexism in college.

She entered Harvard at a time when the professors used the Socratic method of harsh grillings; Ruth and her fellow women classmates found the school extremely hostile. At one point, the dean, Erwin Griswold, asked the women what it felt like to occupy places that could have gone to "deserving men." Ginsburg overcame the derision and excelled. She received high grades, earning a position with the law review.

His cancer + her classes + his classes + the kids.

Crisis hit their family, though, when Martin developed testicular cancer, requiring extensive radiation and surgery. Ruth attended to her preschool daughter and her ill husband in addition to her studies. She attended her husband's class for him, took notes and read them to him so he could keep up, then typed his papers while he dictated every word. Ruth and Martin had two children, a daughter, Jane, and a son, James.

After a difficult struggle, Martin recovered, graduated from law school, and accepted a position with a New York law firm. She transferred from Harvard to Columbia and continued her studies. She made law review again, becoming the first person to have ever reached that honored position at both Harvard and Columbia. She graduated one year later at the top of her class.

Standing up for women's rights.

Following graduation, she spent time in academic endeavors working as a research associate before accepting a teaching position. During this time, Ginsburg worked to advance several feminist causes. At Rutgers, she battled for maternity leave rights for schoolteachers in New Jersey. At this time she also began active paticipation with the ACLU. She joined many important committees and boards in various law associations around the country, and started appearing before the Supreme Court. Eventually, at the Court, she argued six cases for women's rights.

As she argued a case involving women having equal rights with men, Justice William Rehnquist jokingly asked her, "So you can't settle for Susan B. Anthony's face on the silver dollar?" Ginsburg said that by the time she got on the Supreme Court, Rehnquist was appreciative of the equal role of women.

Confirmation hearings.

President Clinton, impressed by Ginsburg's life story, praised her for her efforts in advancing women's rights. During the confirmaton hearings for her appointment to the Supreme Court, she refused to answer questions regarding her personal views on most issues, or how she would judge certain hypothetical situations as a Supreme Court Justice. However, she did answer questions relating to potentially controversial issues. For example, she believes there is a constitutional right to privacy, speaking at some length on her judicial philosophy and thoughts regarding gender equity.

The "Ginsburg Precedent."

This issue came up during Chief Justice John Roberts' confirmation hearings, as squabblingn began over how many questions he would be expected to answer, compared to how many questions she answered. Ginsburg did not answer some questions on topics such as abortion, gay rights, separation of church and state, and rights of the disabled. Only one witness was allowed to testify against her and the hearings lasted only four days. In addition, Committee Chairman, Joe Biden, said she did not have to answer questions she did not feel comfortable answering. The "precedent" will likely come up in hearings for Harriet Miers and possibly other future replacements.

Work Background

2005 Sep	Amidst speculation that a woman would replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Ginsburg told the New York Bar Association that she felt "any woman would not do;" that she had a list of names which she did not expect the President to read.
1999	Diagnosed with colon cancer, underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and appears to be in remission.
1993 Aug 10	Associate Justice, US Supreme Court, nominated by President Clinton on Jun 22, sworn in Aug 10, 1993.
1980-1983	Judge, United States Court of Appeals for District of Columbia, appointed by President Carter.
1977	Co-authored the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights report titled "Sexual Bias in the U.S. Code," which raised some controversy; it advocated gender-specific references in federal law be replaced with gender-neutral language.
1977-1978	Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, in Stanford, California.
1975	Passed District of Columbia Bar.
1974-1980	National Board of Directors, American Civil Liberties Union.
1973-1980	General Counsel, American Civil Liberties Union.
1972-1980	Professor of Law, Columbia University Law School; first woman hired with tenure.
1971	Assisted with launch, then became first woman Director, Women's Rights Project, American Civil Liberties Union.
1969-1972	Professor of Law, Rutgers University School of Law.
1966-1969	Associate Professor of Law, Rutgers University School of Law.
1963-1966	Assistant Professor of Law, Rutgers University School of Law.
1961-1963	Research associate, then Associate Director, Columbia Law School Project on International Procedure.
1959-1961	Law Clerk for Honorable Edmund L. Palmieri, Judge, United States District Court for Southern District of New York.
1959	Passed New York Bar.
1959	LL.B., Columbia Law School
1956-1958	Attended Harvard Law School; she reflected, "If you gave a poor answer in class, you felt like it would be viewed as indicative of all female students."
1954	B.A., Cornell University.

Memberships & Affiliations

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)