Ruth bader ginsburg

Tuesday

Steerpike

Roe v Wade and RBG’s legacy

There are tears aplenty across America this morning as millions awake to the news that the Supreme Court is set to overturn Roe v Wade. The initial majority draft was leaked overnight, suggesting that the country’s highest court will strike down the landmark ruling that legalised abortion nationwide. With Republican legislatures passing restrictive measures across America, the decision is expected to allow each state to decide whether to restrict or ban abortion. At least it’ll give the Democrats something to run on in 2024. Already the rhetoric is ramping up across the country, with accusations flying as to who is to blame. Senator Bernie Sanders has already demanded that Congress pass legislation to

Thursday

Charles Lipson

Who rules supreme in America?

Within hours of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, Democrats and Republicans began fighting over how to fill her seat — and when. The stakes are high because the Supreme Court is so important. It can invalidate any federal, state or local law by ruling that it violates the US Constitution. And its decisions set precedents that lower courts must follow. Its rulings are final, made by judges with lifetime appointments. Donald Trump intends to fill Ginsburg’s seat as quickly as possible. He will announce his nominee by the end of the week. That nominee will then face hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by the Republican Lindsey

Saturday

Stephen Daisley

The ‘Notorious RBG’ and her triumph over tribalism

Ruth the Moabite is the only Biblical figure to merit the description ‘eshet chayil’ – ‘a woman of valour’. One rabbinical exegesis sees Proverbs 31’s womanly virtues as a reference to Ruth: ‘Many women have done well, but you surpass them all.’ Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died aged 87 on Erev Rosh Hashanah, surpassed the expectations and limitations placed on women who came before her. But she did more than that: the Brooklyn-born lawyer fundamentally transformed the role of women in law and changed the law on women’s roles. Only the second woman appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States, she authored the majority opinion in cases such

Daniel McCarthy

The persistent myth of a non-political Supreme Court

The death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a terrible blow to Democrats, but there is an important point to be considered – the principled arguments Democrats made in 2016 after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia prevail. Democrats insisted that the Scalia vacancy should be filled swiftly by President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, but the Republican-controlled Senate refused to hold hearings. Their pleas were not in vain, however, and Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell has now been persuaded by the logic and compassion of the Democrats’ case – and this time the president’s nominee will, probably, get a speedy hearing. It took four years, but Democrats will get the