Opinions & observations: Ruth Bader Ginsburg shaped the modern era of women’s rights long before she joined the Supreme Court
When Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday, Justice John Roberts said in a statement that “Our nation has lost a jurist of historic stature.”
Even before her appointment, Ginsburg had reshaped American law. When he nominated Ginsburg to the Supreme Court, President Bill Clinton compared her legal work on behalf of women to the work of Thurgood Marshall on behalf of African-Americans.
The comparison was entirely appropriate: As Marshall oversaw the legal strategy that culminated in Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 case that outlawed segregated schools, Ginsburg coordinated a similar effort against sex discrimination.