Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away at 87 due to complications with pancreatic cancer after 27 years of Supreme Court Service.
An outspoken advocate of gender equality and Liberal icon, Ginsburg wrote opinions on cases such as United States v. Virginia (1996) and Friends of Earth, In. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc
“I would argue that her dissents in cases like Ledbetter v. Goodyear and Burwell v. Hobby Lobby may be viewed as influential in shaping the thinking and the outcomes of future Supreme Court decisions and even the actions of US Congress,” said Dr Stephanie Slocum-Schaffer, a Shepherd political science professor.
“Justice Ginsburg was essential in the fight for gender equality, which is unfortunately still being fought after her passing,” said Miranda, a young person from Shepherdstown.
Shepherd student Coleman Jacobs added that “…she (Ginsburg) set a strong standard for feminists and liberals that should be idolized.”
Debate has sparked regarding Ginsburg’s successor. President Trump’s Republicans want to nominate her replacement, but Democrats say that the right to her successor belongs to the winner of November’s election.
As said by Miranda, “We are one month away from an election that could determine who will hold Ginsburg’s place for the foreseeable future. The right to her replacement belongs to the election’s winner”
According to Coleman, the right to her replacement should go to the election’s winner to avoid “stressing the relationship of the Supreme Court with the Republicans.”
Alternatively, WVU student Tanner Rogers says, “According to the Constitution, it is the duty of the president to fill the seats of the Supreme Court. President Trump has the right and the duty to choose her successor.”
“I believe that the Constitution is clear that when a vacancy on the Supreme Court occurs, it is the duty of the President and the Senate to act,” Dr. Slocum-Schaffer said. “The President must therefore nominate a replacement and the Senate must ‘advise’ and either consent or not to the nominee, regardless of the party in control of either branch and the time left before an election.”
She added, “I believe that it is essential that this occur in a timely manner so that the vacancy does not prevent the court from doing its job of interpreting the law and the Constitution.
“While I believe this to be the correct course of action for the current day, I also believe that Senator McConnell and the Republican-controlled Senate failed to do its Constitutional duty in 2016 by refusing to act on President Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to fill the vacancy left by the death of Justice Scalia almost 10 months before the 2016 election.”
Ginsburg is the first woman to lie in the state capitol – an honor given to the likes of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Abraham Lincoln. Additionally, Ginsburg is the first Jewish American to receive this honor. Ginsburg will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery after a private gathering.
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