RBG achieves another first for women: She’ll lie in repose at Capitol, Supreme Court
The late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in the U.S. Capitol on Friday, making her the first woman to do so, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced.
“Justice Ginsburg embodied justice, brilliance and goodness, and her passing is an incalculable loss for our democracy and for all who sacrifice and strive to build a better future for our children. Every family in America benefited from her brilliant legacy and courage. Her opinions have unequivocally cemented the precedent that all men and women are created equal,” Pelosi said.
Ginsburg, a member of the Supreme Court’s liberal wing, died on Friday at the age of 87 after battling pancreatic cancer. Ginsburg will be the first woman to lie in state, a tradition dating back to 1852, Forbes reported.
Her casket will be at the Supreme Court on Wednesday morning, followed by a private ceremony with the members of the court, her family and friends, according to CNN. Ginsburg will lie in repose at the Supreme Court for public mourning on Wednesday and under the portico at the court’s steps on Thursday.
On Friday, she’ll be moved to the National Statuary Hall, where she will lie in state and a ceremony will be held for invited guests only, Pelosi said. In 2005, Rosa Parks was lain in “honor” at the U.S. Capitol, a distinction given to private citizens.
In 2019, Rep. Elijah Cummings became the first Black lawmaker to lie in the U.S. Capitol in Statuary Hall, CNN reported.
A black drape has been placed over the Supreme Court’s doors, a tradition dating back to 1873, when Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase died, according to a Supreme Court statement. “It is believed to have been followed since, with the Bench Chair and Bench draped on the death of each sitting Justice, and the Courtroom door draped on the death of each Justice, sitting or retired,” it read.
Ginsburg was nominated by President Bill Clinton to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993, making her the second woman to ever serve on the nation’s highest court at the time. She gained attention during the 1970s advocating for gender equality and litigating sex discrimination. She also served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
She faced struggles for employment due to her gender and founded the Women’s Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union. Ginsburg taught at Rutgers University Law School in the 1960s and became the first tenured female professor at Columbia Law School a decade later.
