PLUS -- WHAT THIS
(HE)
WE BEGIN TONIGHT WITH BREAKING
NEWS -- UNITED STATES SUPREME
COURT JUSTICE RUTH BADER
GINSBURG HAS DIED.
I'M SHANNON HEGY.
(KK)
AND I'M KIM KALUNIAN.
THE 87-YEAR OLD PASSED AWAY FROM
COMPLICATIONS OF PANCREATIC
CANCER.
(HE)
12 NEWS CORRESPONDENT NIKOLE
KILLION HAS A LOOK BACK
GINSBURG'S HISTORIC CAREER.
RUTH BADER GINSBURG WAS A STAR
IN THE LEGAL WORLD...BUT MOST
AMERICANS LEARNED HER NAME IN
1993...WHEN PRESIDENT BILL
CLINTON TAPPED HER FOR THE
SUPREME COURT.
"I, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, do
solemnly swear..."
POISED AND SOFT SPOKEN, SHE WAS
A NATIVE NEW YORKER..WITH A
STELLAR RESUME. AND ONLY THE
SECOND WOMAN EVER PICKED FOR THE
NATION'S HIGHEST COURT.
BUT DECADES EARLIER...AFTER
GRADUATING FROM COLUMBIA LAW
SCHOOL, GINSBURG HAD TO FIGHT
HER WAY ALONG THE CAREER PATH .
SHE HAD THE FULL SUPPORT OF HER
HUSBAND MARTIN.. BUT BEING
JEWISH, A WOMAN, AND A MOTHER,
SHE SAID, WERE THREE STRIKES
THAT PUT HER OUT OF THE GAME.
REJECTED BY LAW FIRMS, SHE TOOK
A JOB AS A LAW CLERK, THEN A
PROFESSOR. IN THE 1970S, SHE
STARTED THE WOMEN'S RIGHTS
PROJECT AT THE ACLU.
Having experienced
discrimination, she spent the
next 20 years of her career
fighting it..
GINSBURG TOOK ON A SERIES OF
LANDMARK CASES DEALING WITH
GENDER EQUALITY. SHE ARGUED SIX
CASES BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT
AND WON FIVE. AND SHE WELCOMED
PRESIDENT CLINTON'S NOMINATION -
NOT JUST AS A PERSONAL
ACHIEVEMENT...BUT AS A STEP
FORWARD FOR WOMEN.
"It contributes to the end of
the days when women..at least
half the talent pool in our
society appear in high places
only as one at a time
performers."
ONE OF THE HIGH COURT'S MORE
LIBERAL VOICES, GINSBURG
CONSISTENTLY SUPPORTED CIVIL
RIGHTS. AND SHE ISSUED A STRONG
DISSENT IN THE BUSH VERSUS GORE
CASE, WHICH DECIDED THE 2000
ELECTION. BUT SHE ALSO VOTED
WITH HER =CONSERVATIVE=
COLLEAGUES. SHE CALLED THE LATE
ANTONIN SCALIA HER BEST BUDDY
AND THE TWO PUT IDEOLOGY ASIDE
TO SHARE THEIR LOVE OF OPERA AND
ADVENTURE. BUT SHE RAISED A
POLITICAL FLAP DURING THE 2016
PRESIDENTIAL RACE, WHEN SHE
CALLED REPUBLICAN DONALD TRUMP A
"FAKER." SHE LATER SAID SHE
REGRETTED HER REMARKS...BUT
STOPPED SHORT OF AN APOLOGY.
GINSBURG HAS HAD SEVERAL HEALTH
SCARES.
IN 2018 , DOCTORS REMOVED TWO
GROWTHS FROM HER LUNGS, CAUSING
HER TO MISS SIX DAYS IN COURT.
SHE SURVIVED COLON CANCER AND
TWO INCIDENTS INVOLVING
PANCREATIC CANCER.
HER REFUSAL TO STEP DOWN AND HER
UNPARALLELED WORK ETHIC EARNED
HER POP CULTURE ICON STATUS.
"It was beyond my wildest
imagination that I would one day
become the Notorious RBG."
(LAUGHTERS)
(HE)
GINSBURG LOST HER HUSBAND IN
2010 AFTER 56 YEARS OF MARRIAGE
-- BUT SHE WAS BACK IN COURT A
FEW MONTHS LATER -- FOR WHAT SHE
CALLED AN "EXHILIRATING
DEVELOPMENT."
(KK)
THAT WAS WHEN ELENA KAGAN JOINED
HER AND SONIA SOTOMAYOR ON THE
HIGH COURT.
ANOTHER MILESTONE FOR THE
WOMEN'S MOVEMENT... WHICH
GINSBURG HELPED PIONEER.
(KK)
NOW THIS IS ONLY THE SECOND TIME
IN U-S HISTORY WHERE THERE'S
BEEN A SUPREME COURT VACANCY
THIS CLOSE TO A PRESENTIAL
ELECTION.
(HE)
TONIGHT I SPOKE WITH 12 NEWS
POLITICAL ANALYST JOE FLEMING
ABOUT --- HOW THE LOSS OF RUTH
BADER GINSBURG WILL IMPACT THE
UPCOMING ELECTION.
joe this is obvi going to have
huge implications on the
presidential race. Talk to us
about how this completely
changes the game
It's gonna change the game in
the sense that Donald Trump's
gonna really try and motivate
his troops by saying 'we get a
third conserative justice during
my term on the court.' At the
same time for the Democrats, the
liberals, they're gonna get
motivated now because they're
gonna try to really push Joe
Biden through, hoping they can
hold the nomination off until
the new president is elected. In
turn, it will be Joe Biden
trying to get his people in
there, so I think it's gonna
give both sides motivation to
really work hard in the next 46
days."
what is the reality that
president trump is able to pick
a nominee and get that nominee
confirmed before the election?
That is a possiblilty. I'm not
sure it will happen before the
election, it would have to go
very fast to do that. I would
think it would be a lame session
of Congress after the election ,
but I think Mitch McConnell may
try to push it through before if
possible The problem is, you
have some republicans in the
senate who are in very tough
races who are trailing right
now, and if they vote on this
before the election, it could
hurt their chances for
reelection
12 news analyst, political news
analyst, political analyst Joe
Fleming, thank you as always for
joining us. Pleasure.
(KK)
AND CONDOLENCES ARE POURING IN
TONIGHT -- INCLUDING FROM RHODE
ISLAND SENATOR SHELDON
WHITEHOUSE -- WHO IS A SENIOR
DEMOCRAT ON THE SENATE JUDICIARY
COMMITTEE -- AND WILL HAVE A
PROMINENT ROLE IN THE PROCESS TO
FILL THIS EMPTY SEAT.
(KK)
WHITEHOUSE SAYING IN A STATEMENT
QUOTE --
"FOR ONE NIGHT, LET US JUST
FOCUS ON THE CAREER OF THIS
REMARKABLE WOMAN; HER COURAGE,
HER GRACE, HER TENACITY, HER
DIGNITY, AND HER CONTRIBUTION TO
THE LAW."
(HE)
AND RHODE ISLAND SENATOR JACK
REED ADDING QUOTE --
"JUSTICE GINSBURG WAS AN
AMERICAN ORIGINAL AND A LEGAL
PIONEER. EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN
IS A BENEFICIARY OF THE LEGAL
VICTORIES SHE FOUGHT FOR AND
WON."
(KK)
AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE TAKING A
LIVE LOOK OUTSIDE THE RHODE
ISLAND STATEHOUSE -
WHERE PEOPLE HAVE GATHERED FOR A
CANDELIGHT VIGIL TO MOURN THE
LOSS OF THE 87-YEAR-OLD, AND TO
CELEBRATE HER LIFE.
OUR CREW THERE TELLING US THE
GROUP OF ABOUT 60 PEOPLE
INCLUDES A HANDFUL OF SITTING
STATE REPRESENTATIVES - MANY OF
THEM WOMEN.
(HE)
ROGER WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL
OF LAW DEAN GREGORY BOWMAN TELLS
12 NEWS HE SAW JUSTICE GINSBURG
SPEAK THIS PAST JANUARY --
AND HAS SEEN HER DURING ORAL
ARGUMENT AT THE U-S- SUPREME
COURT.
A SHORT TIME AGO WE SPOKE WITH
DEAN BOWMAN AND HE REFLECTED ON
GINSBURG'S LEGACY AND HER VISIT
TO THE LAW SCHOOL TWO YEARS AGO.
"I think that's going to be
multi-faceted I think we're
going to be appreciating that
for decades ... we the people,
everyone."
(HE)
WE HAVE MORE FROM GINSBURG'S
VISIT TO ROGER WILLIAMS
UNIVERSITY -- AND AN IN-DEPTH
LOOK AT HER LIFE AND CAREER --