isn't an administrative error. this is the law, and it's going to have to be rectified with a lawsuit, and if you're willing we'll take you on. >> ruth and i heard about it, and immediately we let the lawyer for sheryl frontiero know we were interested. it was very important for us to have a part in that case. >> there was a sense and there still is a sense that nice girls don't speak up, nice girls don't make demands. well, too bad. it went to the district court in alabama. we lost, and the next court to go to was the supreme court. ruth and i set to work to write the brief. what we wanted was a review of cases where the court would say sex discrimination doesn't work, and it would be a broad command basically to legislatures to get rid of statutes that discriminate on the basis of gender. but she also added to make the point much more poignant the history of women and the way we