The Case Of The Notorious RBG

Examining the life and legend of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

- Da Mon Root

On June 14, 1993, President Bill Clinton announced his pick to replace retiring Justice Byron White on the U.S. Supreme Court. “Ruth Bader Ginsburg cannot be called a liberal or a conservative,” Clinton declared of his nominee. “She has proved herself too thoughtful for such labels.”

The president was half right. Ginsburg, who was 60 years old at the time, already had a long and distinguished record as a litigator, a law professor, and a judge on the prestigious U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She was undeniably thoughtful.

At the same time, Ginsburg was undeniably a liberal. Indeed, she was arguably one of the greatest liberal lawyers of her generation. Today, after serving 25 years on the high bench, Ginsburg stands as the outspoken leader of its liberal wing.

Meanwhile, outside of the courtroom, Ginsburg has emerged as a sort of judicial rock star. Popularly known among her fans as the “Notorious RBG” (a play on the name of the late rapper Notorious BIG), Ginsburg is now a bona fide celebrity, widely feted throughout American culture. In the last few years alone, she has been the subject of admiring books, including a fawning new biography by historian Jane Sherron De Hart (Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life), a glowing documentary (RBG), and a celebratory exhibit at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles (Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg). Late Show host Stephen Colbert has interviewed her about her fitness regime. Saturday Night Live has paid tribute to her in a series of skits. Felicity Jones, the star of the 2016 Star Wars movie Rogue One, will be playing her in a new feature film.