MP-N Meets the
Notorious RBG
By Marsha Porter-Norton
Update 9/18/20: Rest in Peace Justice Ginsburg
You
know the expression, “…s/he took my breath away”… well that is how I felt when
Justice Ginsburg walked into the Supreme Court Courtroom at the Colorado
Capital Conference session on June 5th addressing our
delegation. Thank you to Senators Bennet and Gardner who
somehow made this interview happen!
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| This Tumblr (aka picture or graphic shared via social media) was created by a law student and went viral. Read more at the bottom of this post. |
My immediate impression of her is that her intellect takes
over a room. She dressed in a lovely turquoise dress complete with matching
earrings and a Zuni necklace.
Being quite late to this popular
culture news item, I learned Justice Ginsburg has gained quite a reputation among Millennials and is affectionately called the “Notorious RBG.” She is an
internet icon among many young people and you can read more at the bottom of this post.
With the risk of showing my age, I was slightly put off that
an American Justice had been given such a persona. I mean
the word notorious of course is for people who have done very bad things. However, after thinking this through and
being with 12 Millennial students at the conference, this all makes perfect
sense. Millennials have inherited a
world with so many challenges. They are inundated with media of forms and in volumes never imagined by previous generations. It must be overwhelming. Is it any wonder that something like a Tumblr graphic or someone as unique as Ruth Bader Ginsberg is what it takes to catch
their eye? The fact she has captured the
attention of America’s youngest voters is inspiring. And, if it takes an image like this one, then I’m all for it.
She did not give a speech but rather spoke for a minute and
then opened it up for questions for 35 minutes. There were several attorneys and law students
in the delegation. They asked detailed legal questions. Some of these she addressed and some she would
not due to pending cases. Quite frankly, I was in such awe that I don’t
remember each question and her responses specifically! She did
say something such as the legal tone of the country is not like the day-to-day
weather but rather the overall climate of America’s justice system changes gradually
over time. Someone asked her to tell us
her most notable case and she said, “I am not going to do that. That is like
asking which of my four grandchildren is my favorite one.”
The Supreme Court, made up nine Justices, receives 7,000 to
8,000 cases a year to consider. They
hear 80 of them or roughly 1%. The docent who addressed us beforehand told us
the cases that they hear are generally when two or more lower circuit courts
have disagreed. There are other reasons a case might make it to the high court
including state jurisdictional conflicts. A
rare state jurisdiction case is coming up this year between Colorado and Utah
over guess what: water. Those in
Colorado’s water world, I’m sure, will tune in for the audio or a
transcript which anyone can do for any case at: http://www.supremecourt.gov/.
Lawyers who argue in front of the Court are not really
trying a case, which may confuse some people. As the Notorious RBG put it, “…they don’t
argue the cases. They have a discussion with us.” The
Justices read briefs on the case beforehand and each lawyer gets one-half hour
to present their points verbally and s/he is interrupted frequently with rapid
fire questioning. If you know a lawyer who has argued a case in front of the court be sure and give them a pat on the back or buy him/her a beer. It must be a nerve wracking experience but one that comes with an adrenaline rush and much pride, to be sure.
This picture shows the room from the Justices’ vantage
point. We were in the red
seats. The
court room is actually smaller than I imagined. Absolutely no photographs,
iPads, lap tops or videos are allowed.
This is the decision of the Chief Justice. Current Chief Justice Roberts
bans them (or rather has continued the historic ban) believing that it will
affect the proceedings. This makes total sense to me. The
room has somberness about it that a selfie would well, taint. Security is evident everywhere. The public can gain access to the gallery, which are the red
seats in the picture, through a ticketing system that is "first come first served." There are also tickets issued where a visitor
can be in the court room for a short time which allows more people to see it.
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| Super Court Room. Photo: The Supreme Court's Web site |
The court is in session from May through October with the
rest of the year devoted to issuing decisions. No one knows when these decisions will be
released. Minority opinions can explain
when a consensus is not reached and Justice Ginsburg is well known for her
sharp dissents. As we know, a major case
on the Health Care Law (a.k.a. “Obamacare”) is set to be released any moment and relates
to whether the states’ health care exchanges can provide subsidies via Medicaid.
As
we know from history, for the really contentious cases such as the gay marriage
or abortion or civil rights issues, people come from all over America. Advocates
or opponents are either lucky enough to
get in or they camp out in front. Oh, if
these steps could tell their stories.
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| Photograph: Entrance to the Supreme Court Photo: Marsha Porter-Norton |
While in the moment my breathe was so taken away I couldn’t
really formulate a question. I think if I would have made an inquiry, I would have asked her to grade our current
American justice system in its entirety on an A to F scale in the context of recent
news such as police brutality, marijuana, national security and privacy, health care access, etc., etc. From what little I heard from her, we can be
rest assured that she would have answered the question with incredible
thoughtfulness and intellect in her measured Brooklyn speech that has captured
the hearts and minds of Millennials and now, MP-N.
*******************************************************************
More on the Notorious RBG.....
“An 82-year-old Supreme Court justice
and Jewish grandma seems an unlikely choice for Internet superstardom. But the
kids love Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In 2013, law student Shana Knizhnik created a
Tumblr dedicated to Ginsburg, called NOTORIOUS RBG, playing off the hyped-up
persona of late rapper Notorious B.I.G. It went viral, and as Ginsburg spent
2013 and 2014 writing series of pointed opinions in important civil rights and
gender equality cases, her notoriety — and fan base — grew among a young cohort
of women and men not otherwise entrenched in daily Supreme Court doings.
Ginsburg eventually noticed — she asked her law clerks, "What's this Notorious?"
and the clerks explained the rapper connection — and she seems largely tickled
by the online attention, telling Yahoo News's Katie Couric that "most of
it I think is very funny."
Source and
read more at:
More links:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/04/16/ruth-bader-ginsburg-goes-full-notorious-rbg/.
http://notoriousrbg.tumblr.com/.
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