BY THE CELEBRATE IN THIS "SNL’S"
WEEKEND UPDATE.
>> GINSBURG.
>> JOINING ME NOW ARE THREE
WOMEN WHO KNEW HER AND COVERED
HER FOR YEARS, RUTH MARKUS,
DEPUTY EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR AT
THE "WASHINGTON POST."
LISA, EXCUSE ME FOR BUTCHERING
YOUR NAME, FORMER LAW CLERK TO
JUSTICE GINSBURG.
AND THE SENIOR CORRESPONDENT AND
COAUTHOR OF THE NOTORIOUS R.B.G.
RUTH, FIRST TO YOU THERE ARE WAS
A PATH-BREAKING WOMAN.
YOU WERE AT HARVARD LAW.
YOU CAN’T IMAGINE WHEN YOU WERE
AT HARVARD LAW THE NINE WOMEN
WHO WERE AT HARVARD LAW WITH HER
IN THAT CLASS BEING TOLD, YOU
KNOW, JUSTIFY THAT -- YOU KNOW,
WHY YOU CAN TAKE THE PLACE OF A
MAN.
>> IT -- SHE USHERED IN AND WAS
IN THE VANGUARD OF A REVOLUTION
OF WOMEN AT HARVARD LAW SCHOOL.
WHEN I WAS -- I REMEMBER
ACTUALLY SEEING HER COME TO
SPEAK AT HARVARD WHEN I WAS A
STUDENT THERE.
AND SHE WAS ON THE I PEELS COURT
AND IT WAS A PACKED ROOM TO HEAR
HER.
IT WAS CLEAR THAT SHE -- IT
WASN’T CLEAR THAT SHE WAS GOING
TO BE ON THE SUPREME COURT, BUT
IT WAS CAREER THAT HER PREVIOUS
CAREER AS AN ADVOCATE FOR
WOMEN’S LIGHTS BEEN SO
SIGNIFICANT.
FOR ME AT HARVARD, I HAD MANY
MORE WOMEN THAN THAT IN MY
CLASS, BUT I DID NOT HAVE A
FEMALE PROFESSOR UNTIL MY THIRD
YEAR OF LAW SCHOOL.
NOW I’M JUST GOING TO SAY WITH
SOME PRIDE MY DAUGHTER’S A FIRST
YEAR STUDENT AT HARVARD LAW
SCHOOL, NOW REMOLT, ANDTE, HE AN
HAS PROFESSORS FROM HER FIRST
SEMESTER.
THANK YOU SO JUSTICE GINSBURG
FOR SEEING THAT SHIFT HAPPEN.
>> AND ELENA KAGEN, ANOTHER
HARVARD GRADUATE WHO IS NOW AND
WAS A COLLEAGUE AND A CHERISHED
COLLEAGUE OF HER ON THE COURT.
SHE ALSO HAD A WONDERFUL
RELATIONSHIP THAT I WITNESSED MY
SAY TO O’CONNOR WHO MENTORED
HERE.
LISA, YOU PROBABLY SAW THAT AS
WELL CLERKING UP THERE.
I REMEMBER HER ONE NIGHT TALKING
AT A BIRTHDAY PARTY ABOUT
SENATOR DAY O’CONNOR AND HER
TELLING THE STORY ABOUT HOW WHEN
SHE FIRST WAS ASSIGNED IN HER
FRESHMAN YEAR ON THE COURT A
MAJORITY OPINION AND SHE WAS REA
SCARED BY IT AND SANDRA DAY SAID
IN HER TRADEMARK WAY, JUST DO
IT.
TAKE ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE
OTHER AND JUST DO IT.
AND SHE GAVE HER THE SPINE AND
THE CONFIDENCE TO PROCEED AND
REALLY TOOK HER UNDER HER WING.
AND HOW LANEONELY SHE WAS AFTER
SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR TOOK EARLY
RETIREMENT TO TAKE CARE OF HER
HUSBAND AND LEFT TO BE THE ONLY
WOMAN ON THE COURT, LISA.
>> I THINK SHE HAD A WONDERFUL
RELATIONSHIP WITH JUSTICE
O’CONNOR
O’CONNOR.
IN FACT, DURING THE JUSTICE
GINSBURG’S WRITING OF VMI, HER
LANDMARK WOMAN’S RIGHTS OPINION
AS A SITTING SUPREME COURT
JUSTICE, SHE USED JUSTICE
O’CONNOR’S WORDS IN ARTICULATING
THE STANDARD THAT STATES MUST
SHOW WHEN THEY HAD A GENDER
CLASSIFICATION IN ORDER TO
EXCLUDE WOMEN.
YOU HAD TO PROVIDE AN EXTREMELY
PERSUASIVE JUSTIFICATION.
AND THOSE WERE WORDS THAT SHE
HAD USED FROM AN EARLIER
O’CONNOR OPINION.
WHEN SHE DECIDED TO READ THAT
SUMMARY OF THAT OPINION ON THE
BENCH, SHE LOOKED OVER AT JUSTICE O’CONNOR WHEN SHE
JUSTICE O’CONNOR WHEN SHE
ARTICULATED THE STANDARD.
>> REALLY PAYING OMTO HER
PREDECESSOR ON THE COURT.
ERIN, YOU TALKED ABOUT HER HOPES
OF SEEING GENDER REPRESENTATION
IN THE COURT AND LET’S TALK
ABOUT NOTORIOUS RBG AND HERE’S
SOMETHING FROM THE MOVIE, FROM
THE DOCUMENTARY.
>> NOW THE PERCEPTION IS YES,
WOMEN ARE HERE TO STAY AND WHEN
I’M SOMETIMES ASKED WHEN WILL
THERE BE ENOUGH AND I SAID WHEN
THERE ARE NINE.
BUT THERE HAVE BEEN NINE MEN AND
NOBODY’S EVER QUESTIONED THAT.
>> SO, ERIN, TALK ABOUT HOW SHE
BECAME THE CULTURAL ICON.
THAT SHE BECAME AND THE
PHENOMENON AND HOW SHE REACTED
TO IT.
>> FOR MOST OF HER CAREER
JUSTICE GINSBURG WANTED TO
POSITIVELY SHAPE OUR
UNDERSTANDING OF THE LAW.
SHE WANTED TO FIGURE OUT A WAY
TO UNDO MORE THAN 100 YEARS OF
CONSTITUTIONAL JURISPRUDENCE
THAT SAID IT WAS OKAY TO
DISCRIMINATE AGAINST WOMEN AS
LONG AS YOU TOLD THEM IT WAS A
FAVOR.
BY THE TIME JUSTICE O’CONNOR
RETIRED AND DURING THE PERIOD
SHE WAS THE ONLY WOMAN ON THE
COURT AND IN THE YEARS THAT
FOLLOWED EVEN WHEN SHE HAD HER
COMPATRIOTS, SHE OFTEN FOUND
HERSELF IN THE MINORITY.
SHE FOUND HERSELF IN DEFEAT IN
DECENT AND SHE WOULD PUT ON THIS
SNAZZY COLLAR AND SHE DID SO IN
JUNE 2013 WHEN SHE DISSENTED IN
THE SHELBY COUNTY CASE THAT
UNDERMINED THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT
AND THAT WEEK SHE ACTUALLY BROKE
THE WEEK FROM DISSENTING FROM
THE BENCH AND SHE MADE EVERYONE
IN THE COURTROOM KIND OF IN A
BREAK FROM USUAL PRACTICE LISTEN
TO HER PROTEST AND DUB HER THE
NOTORIOUS RBG FOR HER MINORITY
OPINION FOR HER DEISSENT.
SHE CAPTURED PEOPLE’S
IMAGINATION WHEN THINGS GOING
WRONG IN OUR DEMOCRACY AND IN
THE INSTITUTION OF THE COURT AND
WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO TELL
THE STORY HOW IN HER OWN, QUIET,
COUNTERINTUITIVE WAYS SHE HAD
BEEN NOTORIOUS ALL ALONG AND
DEVOTED HERSELF TO THE VALUES
SHE WAS STANDING UP FOR THAT
DAY.
>> LISA, YOU WENT BACK TO VMI
WITH HER AFTER THAT NOTABLE CASE
WHEN THEY WERE ACTUALLY WERE
WOMEN CADETS.
TELL US ABOUT THAT.
>> THAT WAS A WONDERFUL
EXPERIENCE, I HAVE TO SAY.
THAT WAS ABOUT 20 YEARS AFTER
THE DECISION CAME DOWN.
YOU KNOW VMI HAD BEEN THIS
UNIQUE
UNIQUE INSTITUTION WITH
FOUR-STAR GENERALS AND LIVING IN THE BARRACKS AND A TREMENDOUS
THE BARRACKS AND A TREMENDOUS
ALUMNI AND VMI HAD SO RESISTED
WOMEN JOINING ITS RANK THAT IT
SET UP A SEPARATE BUT EQUAL
SCHOOL FOR WOMEN CALLED BE WELL.
AND, YOU KNOW, THE RESISTANCE IN
THAT COMMUNITY WAS REALLY QUITE
STRONG TO WOMEN JOINING.
SO, WHEN WE WENT BACK TOGETHER
TO SEE THE SCHOOL, TO MEET SOME
OF THE VERY FIRST WOMEN CADETS
AND THEN IN THE CURRENT WOMEN
CADETS AND SEE HOW THEY WERE
DOING.
IT WAS WONDERFUL TO SEE HOW THEY
WERE THRIVING.
THEY WERE SO IMPRESSIVE.
YOU KNOW, THEY WERE STUDYING
NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND TRYING TO
SOLVE WATER CRISES IN AFRICA AND
THEY WERE JUST GREAT.
AND THE OTHER THING THAT WAS
MOVING ABOUT THAT EXPERIENCE WAS
THAT THEY WERE ALL SO GRATEFUL
TO THE JUSTICE FOR GIVING THEM
THE OPPORTUNITY TO PURSUE THEIR
DREAMS.
WE HAD A TERRIFIC VISIT.