Transcripts For CSPAN Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Delivers Rathbun Lecture On A Meaningful Life 20170221

Good evening, it is my very great pleasure to welcome you to the Memorial Church for this lecture on a Meaningful Life. Tonight we are deeply honored to have as our speaker associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. [cheers and applause] this event, this event, as you may know, has a rich history at stamford. Thatiginated in a lecture a stanford law professor in the 1930s to the 1950s decided to give about the meaning of life his businessay of law class one spring. The lecture was such a success that it turned into an annual tradition at stanford for many years, until the his professor retired. It was revived in 2008, supported by a generous gift to the office of religious life by the foundation for global community, which established the henry enemy henry and emelia fund for exploring what leads to a Meaningful Life. Each year a visiting fellow is selected to come to stamford to deliver this lecture and spend time with our faculty, students, and staff. In a busy world and in a time of great change in our country, this lecture provides us a welcome moment for self reflection and moral inquiry. We are so fortunate this year to have Ruth Bader Ginsburg as our visiting fellow. Her byny of you know another moniker, as the notorious rpg rbg. [cheers and applause] that name got its start several years ago in a tumbler blog but together by an admiring law student and it took off from there. Today she finds herself not only a member of the highest court, but a cultural phenomenon as well. Born in brooklyn, she received her bachelors degree from Cornell University and her law degree from Columbia Law School. She was a professor of law at Rutgers University from 1963 to 1972. And at Columbia Law School from 1972 to 1980. The971 she cofounded womens rights project of the American Civil Liberties union and served as the aclus general counsel from 1973 to 1980. She was appointed to the u. S. Court of appeals, the district of columbia circuit, in 1980. President clinton the nominated her as an associate justice to the Supreme Court and she took her seat on the court in 1993. These biographical facts come nowhere close to adequately describing the person who is with us tonight. Sufficienty arent words to describe the impact she has had on the law and on the advancement of womens rights in america. Daringazing, pioneering, they are all true. But they still dont capture it. Ginsburg went to law school in the 1950s, when many when very few women did. She faced challenges as a woman and a mother in pursuing her career in that area. She then turned her career to the cause of battling discrimination on the behalf of women and families everywhere. At Columbia Law School she became the first tenured female professor. At the womens rights project she argued six cases before the Supreme Court, playing an absolutely central role in establishing contemporary law on equal protection as it relates to equality between the sexes. Called herct have the Thurgood Marshall of womens rights. She was the second woman to join the u. S. Supreme court, serving at the time with Justice Sandra day oconnor, who has also been a visiting fellow with us here at stanford. She will be in conversation tonight with dean jane shaw. The dean for religious life and professor of religious studies are at stanford. Professor shaw previously taught at oxford for 16 years and just before coming to stamford she was the dean of great cathedral in san francisco. We look forward to an insightful and engaging conversation. Please, if you will, join me in welcoming to stanford justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Applause] thank you,sburg thank you. Please, be seated, please. Applause]d persis please Justice Ginsburg please, be seated. Thank you, thank you very much. But please, be seated. [applause] i thought iturg might be inappropriate and appropriate an beginning to tell you a little bit about my life. What im going to say to you comes from a book all the my. Words the preface, all in my own words. Did you always want to be a judge . More exorbitantly, a supreme . Ourt Justice School children who visit me at the court, as they do at least weekly, ask that question more than any other. It is a sign of huge progress made. Judgeship asuth, an aspiration for a girl is not at all outlandish. This with the early days when i entered law school and women were less than 3 of the lawyers in the United States. Only one woman had ever served on a federal appellate court. Florence allen, appointed by Franklin Delano roosevelt in 1934. By the time i got to law school, she was retired and they were done. Half the law students and one third of the federal judges today are women, including three of the nine seated on the Supreme Court bench. Women hold more than 30 of u. S. Law school dean ships and serve as general counsel to 24 of fortune 500 companies. In my long life i have seen great changes. How fortunate i was to be alive and a lawyer when, for the first time in u. S. History, it became possible to earn successfully before legislatures and courts. The equal citizenship stature of men and women. There is a page out of place. So bear with me a moment. Should be not too far from here. , if its skipped, will go on. Well go on to the next one. Speaking about teachers who influenced and encouraged me in. Y growing up years at Cornell University, professor vladimir knockoff novel who changedokov, the way that i read and write. Words could take pictures for him. Choosing the right words in the right order, he illustrated, could make an enormous difference in conveying an image or an idea. From constitutional law Professor Robert cushman and american ideals professor milton [indiscernible] i learned of our nations enduring values and how our congress was straying from them in the red scare years of the 1950s. But also how lawyers could ournd lawmakers and constitution shields the right to think, speak, and right without fear of reprisal from government authorities. At harvard law school, professor Benjamin Kaplan was my first and favorite teacher. He used the socratic method in class. Il procedures always to stimulate, never to wound. He was the model i try to follow in my own law teaching years, from 1963 until 1980. At Columbia Law School, whossor Gerald Gunther later served on the stamford law faculty for many years, he was determined to place me in a federal court clerkship, despite what was then viewed as a grave. Mpediment on graduation i was the mother of a fouryearold child. After heroic efforts, he succeeded in that mission. Caseser years, litigating in the Supreme Court, i turned to gunther for aid in dealing with legalistic issues, boast substantive both substantive and procedural. He never failed to help me find the right path. Often asked question, when i speak in public do you have some good advice you might share with us . Yes, i do. [laughter] it comes from my savvy motherinlaw. On my weddinge me day. In every good marriage, she counseled, it is helpful, sometimes, to be a little deaf. [laughter] Justice Ginsburg i have followed that advice assiduously. In myly at home, but years of partnership and employed it as well in every workplace, including the supreme , whenof the United States a thoughtless or unkind word is spoken, best to tune it out, reacting in anger or annoyance will not advance ones ability to persuade. From my fatherinlaw has also served me well. He gave it during my gap years, 1954 to 1956. When my husband, marty, was fulfilling his obligation to the army as an altar as an artillery officer in oklahoma. My pregnancy 1954, was confirmed. We look forward to becoming three in july of 1955. But i worried about starting law school the next year with an infant to care for. Ruth, if youce dont want to start law school, you have a good reason to resist the undertaking. No one will think less of you if you make that choice. But if you really want to study the law, you will stop worrying and you will find a way to manage child in school. And school. So, we did, engaging a nanny on school days from 8 00 to 4 00. Many times after, when the road was rocky, i thought back to fathers wisdom, at no time dotting, finding a way to what i thought was important to get done. Worklife balance was a term not yet coined in the years that my children were young. Descriptive of the Time Distribution i experienced. My success in law school, i have no doubt, was due in large measure to baby jane, my daughter. I attended classes, studying diligently until 4 00 in the afternoon. Janes time,s were games, ging silly singing silly songs, playing games. Each part of my life provided respite from the other gave me a that of proportion classmates trained only on the law lacked. I have had more than a little bit of luck in life, but nothing equals the magnitude of my marriage to marty ginsburg. I dont have words adequate to describe my supersmart, exuberant, ever loving spouse. Early on in our marriage, it became clear to him that cooking was not my strong suit. [laughter] to the everlasting appreciation of our food loving children, in 1965 when sun james was born, marty made the kitchen his domain and became chef supreme friends,me, on loan to even at the court. Marty coached me through the birth of our son. He was the first critic and reader of the speeches i drafted. , inas at my side constantly and out of the hospital during too long bouts with cancer. I betray no secret in reporting that without him, i would not have gained a seat on the u. S. Supreme court. Associate white House Counsel claim set of my 1993 nomination i would say definitely for though Ruth Ginsburg should have been picked for the Supreme Court anyway, she would not have been picked if her husband had not done everything that he did to make it happen. Gaining thencluded unqualified support of my home state senator, Daniel Patrick moynihan, and enlisting the aid of many members of the legal bar,my and the practicing familiar with work i had done. I have several times said that the office i hold, now nearing 24 years, is the best and most consuming job a lawyer anywhere could have. s main job is to repair fractures and federal law. To step in when other courts have disagreed on what the. Elevant federal law requires because the court grants review dominantly one other jurists over the meaning of a statute or constitutional prescription, the questions we take up are rarely easy. Righteldom have dutifully answers. Yet, by reasoning together and our conferences, with more depth and precision through the circulation of and sponsors to draft decisions, we ultimately agree far more often than we divide sharply. To 2016, for15 example, we were unanimous, at least on the bottom line casesnt in 25 of the 67 decided after the full briefing in august. We decided five to three or four to three. Justice scalia pot death reduced the number of justices, dividing sharply only eight times. When a justice is of the firm view that the majority got it wrong, she is free to say so in dissent. I take advantage of that prerogative when i think it is important, as do my colleagues. Disagreementsrong on issues think for example about control of Political Campaign spending, affirmative action, access to abortion, samesex marriage we genuinely respect each other and even enjoy each others company, collegiality is key to the success of our mission. We could not do the job the constitution assigns to us if we didnt, to use one of Justice Scalias favored expressions, get over it. [laughter] all of us revere the constitution and the court. That when weure leave, the third branch of government will be in as good shape as it was when we joined it. , i spoke of great changes i have seen in womens occupations. Theone must acknowledge still bleak part of the picture. Most people in poverty in the United States in the world over are women and children. Womens earnings, here and abroad, trail the earnings of educationcomparable and experience. Our workplaces do not adequately accommodate the demands of childbearing and child rearing. We have yet to divide devise ways to ward off Sexual Harassment at work and Domestic Violence in our homes. I am optimistic that the Movement Towards enlisting the talents of all who compose we, the people, will continue. As expressed by my brave colleague, the first woman to serve on the u. S. Supreme court, Justice Sandra day oconnor, for both men and women the first step in getting power is to. Ecome visible to others and then to put on an impressive show. As women achieve power, the barriers will fall. As society sees what women can do, as women see what women can do, there will be more women out there doing things and we will all be better off for it. Expectation, i can only say, amen. [applause] persis dean shaw so, do justice so, Justice Ginsburg, its a huge honor to have you with us. As you know, the program was designed to foster inking about what it means to lead a minute lead in Meaningful Life. Could you encapsulate what it means to lead a Meaningful Life to you . Justice ginsburg to put it simply, it means doing something outside yourself. Law students who i addressed now and then, if you want to be a lawyer and just practice or profession, well, you have a skill, very much like a plumber. But if you want to be a true professional, you will do ,omething outside of yourself something to repair the tears in your community. Something to make life a little better for people less fortunate than you. Thats what i think a Meaningful Life is. One lives not just for oneself, but for ones Community Dean shaw . Thats wonderful community. Dean shaw thats wonderful, thank you. Is that the same as a purposeful life . Justice ginsburg the purpose is what you aim for. Dean shaw how has family played a part in your own life . Meaningre a meeting your own meaning in life . Justice ginsburg it plays a large part. That drewf the things Justice Scalia and me together. We both care a lot about families. Change in life in the United States between the birth of my daughter in 1955 in my son in 1965. When my daughter, jane, started school, i was one of a very few working moms. 10 years later there had been an enormous change. It wasnt at all unusual to have the middleamilies by 60s. That made me realize that it would be possible, for the first the lawhistory, to move in the direction of what i called equal citizenship stature for men and women. Dean shaw so, talk a little bit about that. Talk about your own experience and how it led you to that work. Justice ginsburg in the days i went to law school, entering class at harvard, it was over 500 students. There were only nine that were women. There was no antidiscrimination law. Employers were totally upfront anyaying we dont want lady lawyers here. We once hired a woman. She was dreadful. How many men have you hire that didnt live up to your expectations . [laughter] ,ustice ginsburg at any rate things we didnt complain about. School, there were nine women, to teaching buildings at that time. Only one of them had a womans bathroom. You can imagine, if you are in class its one thing, much worse taking a three or four hour exam and having to make a mad to the other building. The thing of it was, we never complained. Thats just the way that things were. 1960s, theate feminist movement had revived in the United States. In part as a result of the civil rights movement, but also as part of a worldwide movement. The u. N. Had declared International Womens year. Things were changing all over. Possible to break what is referred to as the separate spheres mentality, where it is the womans place to be with the family, taking care of the home, and the mans place was outside. He was the representative of the family outside the home. Designedur laws were to fit that model of the stayathome woman and the workaday man. So, in the decade of the 1970s, almost all of the laws of that kind were gone. Would you like to talk about one or two of the cases that you felt were most important in that . Justice ginsburg the first one was the turning point case. Going back, up until 1971, the Supreme Court never saw a gender based classification that it didnt think was ok. So, if we take the years of the in the caseen court of white against florida, which was what we would call today and abuse, battered woman, her abusive and philandering husband one day had humiliated her to the breaking point. She spied her young sons baseball bat in the corner of the room, lifted it up, and with all of her might hit him over the head. He fell on the stone floor. And of the altercation, beginning of the murder prosecution. In those days and held borough county, they didnt put women on juries held borough phil hillborough county, they didnt put women on juries. She thought that a woman might better understand her state of mind. Was convicted of murder, but they may have given her manslaughter. When the case came to the Supreme Court challenging the absence of women on the jury rolls, the courts attitude was gwendolyn hoyt, women have the best of both worlds. Dont call them for jewish for jury duty, but if they come into the Clerks Office and sign up, we will put them there. How many men, do you think, would sign up if they had the choice . The Supreme Court didnt get it. The case before that, cleary, was the case of a woman who owned a tavern. Her daughter was the bartender. The state of michigan, perhaps with the encouragement of the bartender, passed a law that said that a woman couldnt tend was the wife or daughter of the bar owner. The Supreme Court treated that case as part of backing away from attempting to put down economic and social legislation. That is how the case was taught when i went to law school. It was a retreat from the days gavee nine old men who president Franklin Delano roosevelt such a hard time. Leave this foro just a moment to join the u. S. House, who will be gaveling in for a brief pro forma session. The speaker pro tempore the house will be in order. The chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. The clerk the speakers rooms, washington, d. C. February 21, 2017. I hereby appoint the honorable thomas j. Rooney to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. Signed, paul d. Ryan, speaker of the house of representatives. The speaker pro tempore the prayer will be offered by the guest chaplain, the reverend cara, from the christchurch of ashington, d. C. , parish. The chaplain god, you have called all people to lives of service. You have called all people to lives of peace and justice. We confess sometimes we have cared more for lofty places than we have for places of service. We confess that sometimes we have worked more for power than for peace. Bless now those who gather in this place, orient them to serve one another and their country towards the work of peace and justice for all. Grant them the wisdom, the vision, and resilience that they need. And may this place be a sign of hope that we, your people, can Work Together through many difficulties to bring about your intentions for creation. Amen. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to section 3a of House Resolution 123, the journal of the last days proceeding is approved. The chair will lead the house in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The speaker pro tempore the chair lays before the house a communication. The clerk the honorable the speaker, house of representatives. Sir, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2h of rule 2 of the rules of the u. S. House of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on february 17, 2017, at 2 46 p. M. That the Senate Passed without amendment h. R. 609. That the senate agreed to without amendment house concurrent resolution 23. Signed, sincerely, karen l. Haas. The speaker pro tempore the chair announces the speakers appointment pursuant to 22 u. S. C. 276 and the order of the house of january 3, 2017, of the following members on the part of the house to the mexicoUnited States interparliamentary group. The clerk ms. Sanchez of california. Mr. Gene green of texas. Mr. Polis of colorado. Mrs. Torest of torres of california. And ms. Lofgren of california. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to section 3b of House Resolution 123, the house stands adjourned until 9 30 on friday, february 24, 2017. Justice ginsburg that case came to the Supreme Court, the court divided three ways. Ofjority thought course this is discrimination. Gainst the woman she pays the same Social Security taxes as the mail juror juror, but it doesnt net for her family the same protection. A few thought that it was this urination against the man as parent, because he had no choice but to work fulltime. He would not have the choice of taking care of his child personally. And then, one, a man who later became my chief, then justice , he said this is totally arbitrary from the point of view of the baby. Why should the baby have the care of a sole surviving parent if the baby is if the parent is female but not if the parent was male . So, that case was a perfect illustration of what was wrong with the separate spheres mentality. The women working outside the home did not get equal pay. The man didnt have a choice to be a caring parent. The baby would not have the benefit of the love and care of his father. They werese cases, test cases and a sense that the American Civil Liberties union, with whom i was affiliated, went out to find plaintiffs. They were just everyday people who thought something wrong had and who believed that we had a legal system that would respond to that wrong. Do you think, what has to be done now, still . Justice ginsburg well, i described a 70s, in those years, both legislatures and books with the statute that had the overt genderbased classifications, what was left lines wereert bias. Ated was unconscious people who didnt think of themselves as prejudice in any way. My classic example for that is the symphony orchestra. Growing up, i never saw a woman in a symphony orchestra. Someone came up with the bright idea of lets drop a curtain between the people who are listening and the judges. It worked like magic. Almost overnight, women were making their way into symphony orchestras. I wish that we could duplicate ,he drop curtain in every area but it isnt that easy. That ier illustration give is a title vii case from for nots against at t promoting women to jobs in middle management. Welloman who applied it along the standard measures, making it to the last step, which was called the total person test. Interviewer interviewing the candidate for a promotion. Women dropped out disproportionately. They flunked the total person test. Why . Because the interviewer, who was , wast always a white male discomforted that someone unfamiliar, a member of a minority race, a woman, didnt really feel at ease in front of someone who looked just like him. That was felt outside his comfort zone. How you get past that kind of unconscious bias, it remains, even today, a difficulty. So, let me change subjects, as you just mentioned symphonies. You love opera. Famously love the opera. I think you are very keen on the visual arts. I know you have some favorite visual artists. Earlier you talked about nabokov being very influential on your reading and writing. Can you talk about the place of the arts, the humanities, in your life . Why are they important to you . Werece ginsburg they essential. Operatell them about an that was written several years ago called Scalia Ginsburg . This was a talented musician who , with ana music major ,a from el, who decided yale who decided it would be helpless to know a little bit about the law. Ginsburg for the majority, scalia for the majority, ginsburg in dissent. He decided this could make a very funny comic opera. Opens with a rage aria. Scalia says that the justices are blind. How can they possibly spout this . The constitution says absolutely nothing about this. And then i sing in return that he is searching for bright Line Solutions to problems that dont have easy answers. But the great thing about our , constitution is that like our society, it can evolve. The plot is roughly based on the magic flute. [laughter] Justice Ginsburg Justice Scalia is locked in a dark room where he is being punished for excessive dissenting. [laughter] i breakginsburg through a Glass Ceiling to help him get out. [laughter] and the figureg has a littlem up resemblance to Don Giovannis commendatory. He says, why would you want to help him . He is your enemy. I say, no, he is my dear friend. And then we sing a duet [laughter] we are ginsburg different, we are one. One in our reverence for the constitution and the institution that we serve. Dean shaw carry on . Justice ginsburg opera is my passion, but i also love theater. The district of columbia is blessed with a number of fine museums, most recently the African American museum. In the years i was on the d. C. Circuit, 13 years, the National Gallery was right across the street. Room paytake my pick my room, instead of lunch, and sit in my room and feel i was in my own palace. Dean shaw so, in england, there is a bbc Radio Program where you program called Desert Island discs where you get to choose eight pieces of music to take to a Desert Island. Perhaps you could choose one that you couldnt live without if you are on a Desert Island. Justice ginsburg i would have to pick two. [laughter] dean shaw thats fine. Mozart, theburg marriage of figaro, and don giovanni. Dean shaw good choices. [laughter] you talked about the opera, and you and Justice Scalia. That is part of the importance give to collegiality. You talk about the way in which your colleagues and the court are very collegial to each other. You share meals. How can we expand that a betterity into Public Discourse . Justice ginsburg when i was growing up, the first branch was very different than it is today. That persisted. I think back to 1993, when president clinton nominated me for the job i now hold. I had been general counsel to the American Civil Liberties union for several years. The vote was 963 in my favor. My biggest supporter on the Judiciary Committee was not that then chair, senator biden, although he was certainly in my favor, but it was senator orrin hatch. I think today he wouldnt touch me with a 10 foot hole. [laughter] we are stillurg friends, but if it came to a vote on me, i dont think he would be the supporter that he was in 1993. And it was similar with stephen breyer, when he was nominated the next year, it was well into the 90s. They voted in his favor. It is not been that way for the four most recent members of the court. For the other side of the aisle, for both sides of the aisle, i wish there was a way i could wave a magic wand and put it back. When people were respectful of each other and the congress was working for the good of the country and not just along party lines. Someday there will be great people, great elected representatives who will say enough of this nonsense. Lets be the kind of legislature the United States should have. I hope that day will come while i am still alive. [cheers and applause] so, your husband, marty, as you said, was a great cook. Eating together is one way we can have collegiality and talk well across differences. Do you have a memorable meal you would like to tell us about . Justice ginsburg i will describe one meal that was a great challenge. For marty. Scalias and my family celebrated new years eve together. Usually, the great hunter would kill bambi and we would have venison. [laughter] but this particular new years, he killed a wild boar. Finding a recipe that would be palatable, that was a real challenge for marty. It was. But he did it. He did. To openw we are going up to student questions in a moment. But i want to point out the fantastic code bag tote bag, which says i dissent. Justice ginsburg and its got me on the other side. [laughter] [applause] this is theburg name of a book by debi leiby who is a lawyer, but decided all things considered, she would rather write childrens books. Shes been very successful. And the publisher liked her book so much, they made these tote bags. Dean shaw i personally love it that Justice Ginsburg is carrying the tote. [laughter] dean shaw you are known to amazingneration, and public figure to every generation. How is that . [laughter] you know whatrg was copied . The notorious rbg, it was the notorious big, a famous rapper. And when i was told it was a that these two law students had created i said it was perfectly understandable, we have one thing in common. You have something in common with the notorious b. I. G. . Yes, we were both born and bred in brooklyn, new york. [applause] but its burg starting that tumblr is a good example of how young people should react to things they dont like. This was a secondyear student at nyu law school. And when the Supreme Court decided the Shelby County case, a case that declared a key part of the Voting Rights act of 19 65 unconstitutional she was , angry. Then she decided anger is a useless emotion. It doesnt advance your cause. Then she decided she would start r. Is tumble it began with my dissenting opinion in the Shelby County case. It took off into the Wild Blue Yonder from there. You are a role model for many. That is an understatement. You are a role model for many, many people. Who have your role models then . Justice ginsburg growing up, there werent too many. Women were hardly there. I had one real and one fictitious role model. The real one was amelia airport amelia and her heart amelia erhardt. The fictitious one was nancy drew. [laughter] Justice Ginsburg i met the first woman to serve on a district court. By the time i got to the d. C. Circuit, she was in her 90s. And i would lunch with her whenever i could to hear her stories. She had been counsel to the national womans party. She had gone to law school at night. She participated in the suffragist parade and she picketed the white house but she would never say a word. She would hold up her sign, votes for woman. She would not speak if she was hassled by the police because she did not want to risk her chances for admission to the bar. Well, it happened that when chief justice taft decided the Supreme Court should not be held inside the capital, as it was until 1935, but should have its own building the site on which , the Supreme Court now stands was occupied, a good part of it, by the headquarters of the National Womens party. So the government condemned to , condemned the property and argued this is just a ramshackle old building, it is not worth anything. She was a specialist in eminent domain. She called in to witness the older inhabitants of d. C. Who testified that not only was it the site of the temporary capital when the capital burned of it washe world 1812, also a prison for notorious confederate spies. She produced a photograph of a most notorious confederates by spy, who happened to be a woman. The government came and she won for the national womans party. They gave the largest condemnation award that the u. S. Government had ever taken. She was a woman from mississippi. She spoke with a soft, southern accent. She wore a lace collar and cuffs , but she was a woman of real steel. And you think what it was like for me . It was a piece of cake compared to what it was like for those women. Dean shaw and mentors . Justice ginsburg mentors . Well, no women were teaching in law school when i went to law school. No women were teaching in the arts college at cornell. But i did mention my dear teacher at harvard. The first class i ever took was civil procedure. And i was captivated by the way the class was conducted. There was a woman i met much later. She was a southern graduate and her name was shirley. She was a judge on the u. S. Court of appeals, ninth circuit, the second in history. I mentioned florence allen, in she was appointed by president 1934. Johnson. And then president carter made her the first ever secretary of the department of education. So, she started, she launched that department and did an excellent job. And it was more than rumored that if carter had a vacancy on the Supreme Court, she would fill it. She was such a great lady. When it turned out that carter would not have a Supreme Court seat to fill, he did have a reception in her and he invited in her honor and he invited all the women he had afforded, over 25 to District Courts and 11 to courts of appeals and he said at that reception that he hoped he would be remembered in history for changing the complexion of the federal judiciary. He did and no president ever went back to the way it once was. So, shirley, when i got to know her, she was what you would call a role model and a mentor. Dean shaw you have been very good at saying how important that is to do for other women throughout your career. Justice ginsburg yes. Dean shaw thank you for that. [laughter] dean shaw i think there are lots of students that would like to ask questions. If i could just invite the students to do that, to come to the central microphone. I just need to remind you of a few ground rules. Please state your name and what class you are in. Are you a freshman, sophomore, graduate student. Please ask only one question. Express the question as briefly as you can. And however passionate you are , please resist the urge to make a statement as well. That way more of your classmates can ask questions. May i also say that we are all delighted that Justice Ginsburg s here, and we will take that as a given. Presage every to question with how delighted you are. I think she knows. So, thank you for that. Justice ginsburg has asked me to remind you that she cannot answer questions on certain topics, as follows. She cannot answer any question about any issue pending before the court or likely to come before the court which would , include the legality of recent executive orders. [laughter] she is just not allowed to talk about it, ok . [laughter] nor can she make any comment on the current nominee to the Supreme Court. If you could follow those rules, that would be great, so she doesnt have to say no to you. First questions, are they ready . Just have to put your hand up and come to the center. I think someone is going to help. In the meantime, i think someone is also going to help fix Justice Ginsburgs microphone a little bit. I have many questions. If the students dont have any questions, i can just keep going. Hi my name is alice. , i am a graduate student here , not in the law school. I wanted to ask you, what would you recommend right now for the young people that we are around here to get involved in those issues that are floating right now or more general issues for womens rights and that are around, i guess. Astice ginsburg we have diversity of Public Interest groups in the United States. If i would take my own example, so i was a flaming feminist and , the question was how can i make a difference . I decided i would affiliate with the American Civil Liberties union, because it was then the principal Civil Liberties defender in the United States. It had up until then concerned itself with First Amendment questions. Free speech, press freedom of , religion. But i thought it was appropriate for it to get into the business of equality. Both racial and gender. So, it is hard to do anything alone, but if you get together with likeminded people, join organizations, if you feel passionate about the environment, there are any number of organizations you can affiliate with. Hello my name is jorge quinto , and i am a masters student in computer science. My question is, 100 years from now, when people are talking about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but what do you want them to remember . Justice ginsburg that i was a judge. [laughter] work asginsburg who hard as she could, to the best of her ability to do the job right. [applause]. I was wondering, you spoke about the importance of deafness and how would you balance that out with things that seem wrong to you. She is asking, you give the advice is that your motherinlaw had a given you, choose to be deaf sometimes. How do you balance that when when you need to speak out . Being deaf to what other people say, not to what i say. The one thing you dont do is react in anger or annoyance. A sense of humor helps in enormously. Casexample, i was out on a before a threejudge federal court in trenton, new jersey. It was a gender discrimination case and one of the judges asked at a question, he said women , have an equal chance today, even in the military they do. I answered, your honor, the air force still doesnt give Flight Training to women. He responded, oh, my dearest, dont tell me that. Women have been in the air forever. My wifexperience with and daughter. Well, you dont say sexist pig. You say, yes your honor, and i know many men who dont have on theeet planted firmly ground. [laughter] [applause] high, hello i am jordan. , i am a freshman. I was wondering how you define your relationship with other female justices on the court and how female friendships have propped you up throughout your life. Justice ginsburg Sandra Day Oconnor was the closest to being a big sister to me as one could wish for. I had a big sister that died when i was young. I was a new justice, she did not try to douse me with lots of information. She told me what i needed to know to get by those first few weeks. And she was important to me. Had Colorectal Cancer. Sandra had Breast Cancer and was on the bench nine days after her massive surgery. She advised me first, youre going to get so much mail and so many wellwishers, dont try to answer any of it. Just try to concentrate on getting well. I knew i had to show up on the first monday in october. I had two weeks between my surgery and when court began. Sandra said, so you are having chemotherapy. Be sure to schedule your chemotherapy for friday that you can get over it during the weekend. Apportso had excellent r with the chief. It was rumored, they were at Stanford Law School at the same time, it was rumored that he had once dated her. [laughter] iow, my female colleagues, feel good having been there. Youll see that Justice Sotomayor and Justice Kagan are not shrinking. They are active in what goes on. During the years, Justice Scalia and Justice Sotomayor overlapped. They were in competition for the justice who asked the most questions. Generally edged her out by a bit, but nowadays, she wins hands down. [laughter] i am a freshman. I was wondering if any of the ways in which you approached adversity in your professional career helped you in combating any challenges you faced as a mother and in your courageous battle with cancer . Justice ginsburg never to have a defeatist attitude. I told the story earlier this afternoon about my model when i had pancreatic cancer was the ezzo soprano marilyn horne. She was diagnosed with the deadly disease and said, i will live. Not that i hope to live. So that was my attitude. I was going to beat this. One of the things i did after the Colorectal Cancer bout, i interest public announcements, because i was trying to encourage women to get colonoscopies. We didnt think Breast Cancer women think of Breast Cancer and ovarian cancer, but they dont realize with a killer of women Colorectal Cancer can be. So the attitude is, i am going to surmount this, whatever it is. The same thing when my husband had cancer at a very young age. We never thought about the. Ossibility of giving up we just took each day at a time, then did the best we could. [applause] im a junior. I was raised in a small Tribal Community in new mexico called Santo Domingo pueblo. In high School Justice sonia , sotomayor visit us. What communities do you aim to speak to and what type of people do you aim to inspire . Justice ginsburg i speak to students, from the second grade to the postgraduate level. By schoolen visited groups. I must visit about half a dozen law schools every year. Just before i came to stanford, i was at the Virginia Military institute that has done a great job of integrating women, and washington and lee, its neighbor , its neighbor school. Mining ms. Molly. My name is molly. Im a sophomore. My question for you is, i find myself in arguments a lot and im curious to know how you see best to construct a sound argument that is purposeful in persuading people from the other side to get on board with you . [laughter] Justice Ginsburg we are trying to persuade each other all the time. It begins when we are considering what request for review to grant. Argument,oral questions are not asked to elicit a response from a lawyer, but to influence a colleagues thinking. Then, we have our conference, very long,t go on where we go around the table and say how we think the case should come out. Then, it continues. Cant be, if you persuasive orally, your writing may be persuasive. I was once assigned a defense by my senior colleague, john paul stevens. It was a dissent for two. The decision came down 63. The two had swelled to six. Every time im in defense, im hoping there will be a repeal. It hasnt happened yet, but hope springs eternal. [laughter] my name is julia. I am a graduate student. Has there ever been a time when , since you have been on the Supreme Court, when you took a side that was opposite your personal morals because he thought the constitution was on the other side . Justice ginsburg if i were queen, there would be no Death Penalty. But i take part, i dont do what Justice Brennan and marshall do in saying the Death Penalty in all circumstances is a violation of the eighth amendment banning cruel and unusual punishment. Part in thosee canments, and do the best i to move them along in the direction in which it seems to be going. , think i mentioned it earlier last year across the country, there were only 20 executions compared with 98 10 years ago. And there were only five states in the United States that held executions, even within those five states only particular counties. Hello. I am a junior from nigeria and i am studying Chemical Engineering my question is, what world uses you see the court playing . To see ayou would like reversal of what we currently have in society now. Could the Supreme Court play a more vocal role in speaking out to the public rather than the traditional role they have held in society . Justice ginsburg unlike other branches of government, the Supreme Court is a totally reactive institution. One court of appeals judge said, the federal judges dont make the conflagrations, they do what they can to put them out. We dont have an agenda. This year, we will take care of samesex marriage, or voter ids. We respond to petitions that come up in cases that begin at least two levels before. So the first thing i will read to inform myself is what other judges of said about the case, what the Trial Court Judge said, the court of appeals. We dont have any agenda of our own. We take cases when other courts , as i said in my opening remarks, when other courts divide on where the law of the United States is. That is what we see as our principal mission. To keep the law of the United States more uniform. I am a first Year Law School student. This is a constitutional law question but i was wondering do you to any extent believe that the presence of Law Enforcement officials that it peaceful protest rally in pans on peoples First Amendment rights . Justice ginsburg do i think the presence of Law Enforcement officers at protests, if they are welltrained, if they know that people have the right to speak their minds, they are there to make sure there is no violence, so i think properly Trained Police are tremendously important. I think in the recent protests thatshington dc, we saw working very well. Of theice, respectful people who had come to protest. I am jonathan. I am a freshman. You and Justice Scalia were obviously very good friends, almost family. What were lessons that you guys taught each other . Bothce ginsburg we thought it was important, not only to get to the right results, but to write in such a way that at least other judges and lawyers, hopefully more than that, would understand. We sometimes, i would sometimes criticize an opinion of his in draft and say this is so overthetop, you are not going to be persuasive. I couldnt always persuade him to tone it down. He would correct my grammatical errors. [laughter] my name is britney simpson. You have obviously been a part to, manyitness advancements for women. What do you think is the biggest in facing women and gender equity today . Justice ginsburg i mentioned the problem of unconscious bias. It is not so easy to overcome. Worklife balance is another. We dont have, in the world of employment, nearly the flexibility that we should have. This envisioned that in electronic age, when for example the entire law library at your fingertips, that it would be much easier for accommodate. But it will take women and men who care about this to make the firmsin the law mentality. I know it is possible because i was married to a man who was a partner in a very large law firm. The tax department, which he headed, everyone was gone by 7 00 because that was the time you had to be home for dinner. In other departments, the culture was, you had dinner at the firm, you come back and work. Think lawdone, and i firms will be much healthier places and do as well accommodate if they their employees and make it comfortable. To have a balance life a balanced life. My name is jesse and im a junior here. I was wondering, as it applies to both into the lot individualized and the processes of justice, do we do do you believe we are masters of our own fate . Is there a percentage their . Justice ginsburg i worked hard to do the best i can at a little and a little bit of divine grace can certainly help. I am a phd student in chinese literature. In silicon valley, people are very optimistic about the potential of artificial intelligence. Some speculate that, with increasing automation, there will be less and less of jobs and they suggest the idea of universal basic income. As a justice, what do you think of that idea . Thank you. It is a graverg concern. I think we have to do a much better job than we do now to into what theys can do with their lives, to have the skills to be part of this electronic age. My name is justin. Im a senior. Recently, with all the change that has been happening, a lot of people have been expressing eat morement that you kale, so to speak. That you can continue doing the Public Service work you are doing for as long as possible. Who do you want to eat more kale in washington . [laughter] Justice Ginsburg Justice Kennedy. [applause] [laughter] [applause] Justice Ginsburg there are three of us on the Current Court who are well beyond what the french call a certain age. Justice prior, the youngest, and the two octogenarians, Justice Kennedy and me. A very important part of my life is my personal trainer who has been with me since 1999 and now also trains Justice Elena kagan and justice breyer. [laughter] i am majoring in human biology and i am a sophomore. You talked much today about your friendship with Justice Scalia. Do you have a favorite dispute with him that you remember especially fondly . Justice ginsburg do i have a favorite dispute. Justice ginsburg his dissenting opinion in the Virginia Military Institute Case is quite over the top. [laughter] Justice Ginsburg we were exchanging drafts. I should tell you, this is a good example of our relationship. I circulated they opinion for the court. I am about to go off to my circuit judicial conference when scalia comes into my chambers and throws down a piece of paper and says ruth this is the penultimate draft of my dissent in the vmi case. It is not ready to circulate to the court. I wanted to give you as much time as i can to respond. So i took it on the plane. It absolutely ruined my weekend. [laughter] Justice Ginsburg but i appreciated the extra time i had. A bit too much. I am quoting the university of virginia case. It wasnt until that the 1970 university of virginia at charlottesville began to admit women. Theres a case in the district court, and i referred to the university of virginia at charlottesville. A footnote comes back, there is no university of virginia at charlottesville, theres only the university of virginia. The university of virginia at charlottesville in quotations, quoting from judge merritt, a very fine district district of eastern virginia. It made no difference. He still kept it. Going to interrupt, we have time for one more question. What an honor. Itd better be good. Justice ginsburg, im a sophomore studying computer science. Today you remarked that the great thing about the constitution is it can evolve with a society. The same time, i think there are core values of this nation that must be remembered and protected. Which beliefs and values of the society do you believe must be changed, which must remain and how do you distinguish one from the other . [applause] Justice Ginsburg some things i would like to change, one is the electoral college. [applause] Justice Ginsburg that would require a constitutional ourdment, which is amending constitution is hard to do, as i know from the struggle of the equal rights amendment, which fell three states shy. What do i think is in during . . Enduring Congress Shall pass no law respecting freedom of speech or the press. That right to speak your mind and not worry about big brother government coming down on you and telling you the right way to think, speak and write. That is tremendously important. I got to see how important it was when i was going to college in the heyday of senator mccarthy. Our country was strained in its most basic values. There were people, many of them lawyers, who helped ring us back to the way it should be bring us back to the way it should be. Equality nor shall any state to , deny to any person the equal protection of the law. An idea that was included in the constitution in 1868 with the 14th amendment. It was not in the original constitution. I think most of you know why , although our declaration of independence says all men are , they couldnt put equality in the original constitution or the bill of rights because of the stain of slavery. The i think an ocean notion, i explain it in terms of the opening words of the constitution, we the people of the United States in order to perform a form a more perfect union. We started with we the people in 1787. A rather small class, they are white, male and they own property. Look at we the people today. All the people who were excluded , people held in human bondage, native americans were not part of we the people. Women were not part of the political constituency until 1920, when the 19th amendment finally was adopted. People ishat we the ive term that covers everyone that dwells in this fair land, that is a major, major theme of our constitution today. It is also a very good note on which to end. Thank you very much. [applause] [cheers] thank you so much. Thank you. [applause] thank you. Congress is on break this week for the president s day holiday. A number of members are holding meetings