[applause] good afternoon, everyone. Its a pleasure to be here with all of you. As our Spring Semester draws to a close and i wish to begin by expressing our deepest decision to Justice Ruth Bader ginsburg were joining us here on campus today. Its an honor to welcome here to gaston all and to hear her reflections this afternoon. I also wish to express our gratitude to the honorable ronald chief judge for the us court of appeals for the Second Circuit and all his efforts to make this extraordinary symposium possible for our community. I look forward to sharing a few more words about the judge in just a moment. Id also like to think professor mary and professor wendy from our Georgetown Law Center who will join the justice in conversation today. Professor hartman and professor williams are for authorized biographers and coauthors of her recent book, my own words, published this past year. I wish to thank all of you being here for the special gathering. The bernstein symposium was created to honor the memory of margaret and shaver bernstein. His work in the areas of regulation, personnel and administrative reform continues to influence scholars today. He served as the founding dean of the Woodrow Wilson school of Public International affairs. He served a prison is president of brandeis and for the last seven years of his life as a professor of politics and the philosophy here in our school of foreign service. Were deeply grateful to michael and susan gelman and all those who have generously supported the symposium and enabled us to bring such esteemed guests to campus including, Vice President al gore, journalist tim, senator pack Patrick Leahy and justices Sonya Sotomayor to take part in this forum that honors his contributions to our University Community and to our understanding of the us political system. To date we have the privilege of welcoming ruth bader burke, justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Since her confirmation to the court nearly 25 years ago shes brought a thoughtful, measured approach to her distinguished service on the bench building consensus and voicing eloquence in dissent. Were deeply honored to have us here with this afternoon to share her insight and reflections with our Georgetown Community. To introduce Justice Ginsburg is my pleasure to welcome chief judge Robert Katzman of the us court of appeals for the Second Circuit. Judge katzman was appointed to the federal bench in 1999 by president clinton. He began his service as chief judge 14 years later in 2013. Like his namesake, judge katzman is also an engaged member of our Georgetown Community having taught at the walsh professor of government, professor of law and public policy. He currently serves at the board of visitors at our loss under it is also one of the founders of the symposium. Before his appointment to the Second Circuit, he was a fellow of the governmental studies program of the Brookings Institution and served as president of the government institute. In 2001 he received the Charles E Miriam award. In 2003 he was named a fellow of the American Academy of arts and science. In 2011 he received the chesterfield award from the Pro Bono Institute recognition of his outstanding dedication to pro bono work including programs regarding immigration. This award was presented to him by Justice Ginsburg who engaged his guidance and expertise when he served as special counsel pro bono to senegal Daniel Monahan and. Her confirmation to the Supreme Court. It is wonderful to welcome you back to camp this afternoon. I want to thank you again for your leadership, your generosity and your sustained commitment to our community. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming the honorable Robert Katzman. [applause] great to be back. Thank you president for your generous introduction. I might add, for your efforts to promote understanding on some very difficult issues that confront our society. It was Marvin Bernsteins idea that georgetown should create a position that would bridge the campuses between the law Center Downtown in the main campus. He worked with the law center to make it a reality. As a beneficiary of that effort, i will always be grateful to him the bernstein symposium brings the camp together and in our program this afternoon, draws upon the talent of the main campus in the Georgetown Law Center faculty. I know that my friend, bill traynor, dean of the law school regret being out of town today and we appreciate his participation in previous years. This symposium series is very dear to me and im very grateful to still be a part of it and grateful to the Government Department and its distinguished chair, charles king for all of his wide counsel. Im also very grateful for friends of Marvin Bernstein who made this is impossible, including the gelmans. This is for me this afternoon particularly special occasion for several reasons. Music has always been important to me, as it is for so many people. What else but music can give a person a citation both soothing and inspiring, transporting experience and have rich associations in its place in the memory . The notes of verde or beyonce, sondheim or philip glass, theres some music out there that speaks to each of us. Its something universal. It is a distinct as our bernstein honoree someone who is monstrously universal values and someone who is in fact performed twice on the opera stage with a washable National Opera at the Kennedy Center, no less. The Washington Post story recently praised our guest for not only her performance but for her writing as well. I quote, or timing delivery and material which she wrote herself were more polished and hit every mark. The headline observed before adoring crowds justice prevailed [. [laughter] i think you know where im headed here. The post story was indeed not about the reaction to Justice Ginsburgs reading of the consequential opinion from the Supreme Court bench or the reaction to her wellcrafted speeches to university or blogger, no, the story was a review of justice converts already acknowledged the veritable rock star in the story is also and i quote an actual opera star. On march 9th the Kennedy Center opera house was filled with an adoring crowd that roared with adulation at her for every opportunity. Ginsburg rules washington National Opera, another post headline read. Justiceginsburg is, of course, a Supreme Court justice and a national icon. The subject of book, pop art, tshirts and i understand, soon a movie Starring Natalie portman its true. [laughter] why is this in fact so . In part, Justice Ginsburg is celebrated for her impact as a judge on the countrys highest court. The second woman on the court in her path marking contribution to the laws development, for her methodical, brilliant analyses and concise elegant prose. In part, no doubt, its because of her trailblazing role before the coming of judge as a lawyer s advocate on behalf of womens rights. I also think its because of the American Public admires her character, her values and feel the connection with her. I witnessed that connection firsthand as president did. Noted in the course of her confirmation journey in the summer of 1993 when she was First Trust International celebrity when i accompanied her to capitol hill at the imitation of her senate sponsor, Daniel Patrick moynihan, that is an experience i will always test. For me, the most telling moment of that confirmation came in response to a question from senator cole of wisconsin. He asked her how would she want the American People to think of her. Ruth Bader Ginsburg replied quietly, i would like to be thought of as a person who cares about people and does the best she can with the talent she has to make a contribution to a better world. That i think, captures her at. [inaudible] shes a person with seemingly limitless capacity for friendship and kindness, large and small. No matter the weighty burdens of her daily life. She is a friend for the chilly winters of life, someone who places others before her own convenience as i have observed. Someone of conviction and termination, a person with a true sense of the aesthetic. Taken by the pleasures that life has to offer, a beloved aria or a horseback ride. To know her, her family, her partner in her accomplished children, her entire family to have a sense of what for her our life blessings. It makes each of us appreciate what is truly important. Justice ginsburg is someone of great prodigious work habit, good humor, dignity and style. In Justice Ginsburg the public observe someone who the law is not about abstractions but her law is someone continues to be working to ensure that each of us can realize his or her potential. Her life can entail the most difficult of challenges, both professional and personal, but she has always been determined to meet them, to struggle through the obstacles, to secure a Better Future for those of us here now and those of us who follow. That enduring connection that she established the American People who watch the confirmation hearing was based on theirperception that in this age, too often gripped by glitz and selfpromotion, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is someone whose virtues were and are very real. Early on i could sense that connection is of all ages and she agreed with friendliest. Its very affirming of our country and of ourselves that this intellectual powerhouse woman draws huge crowds and is a fixture extolled in pop culture. The occasion is the recent publication of my own work. This is a collection of Justice Ginsburgs writing. Its a great read and i cant recommend it enough. Indeed, everybody here will get a copy. The book is widely heralded in book reviews as a collection of thoughtful writing about perseverance and community in the law. Reflecting an abiding commitment to protect outsiders and others at the core american value. As a climate to the current climate,. [inaudible] it pays tribute to those came before her and others who work with her. As writing, my own words are a model for all of us. Precise, varied, beautiful structure, like a wonderful piece of music. Joining me in conversation, now, is Justice Ginsburg and her two colleagues on the project, mary and abject professor at georgetown law focus on International Womens rights and wendy williams, Professor Emeritus at georgetown law best known for her work on the subject of gender and law. Please join me in welcoming Justice Ginsburg and her colleagues on state for a conversation,. [applause] [applause] i have never heard such applause. Thats extraordinary. Justice ginsburg, if i might begin, why this book of writing and why now . The original plan, bob, was that wendy and mary would write the biography, my authorized biography and u2 started in 2004 they came to me and said, someones going to write about you so you might as well designate people you trust. [laughter] the idea was that they would write the biography and then as a moment, we would have a selection of my writing. 2004, became 2010 and i suggested why not flip the order , do the book of writing first and then the biography. They were very enthusiastic about the idea so was the publisher. [laughter] someday, maybe they can tell you when the biography will appear that. Is a bestseller, as it is. There will be some lead time for the book is actually published. No pressure on a. Telus, wendy and mary, about the process of gathering and choosing the materials to be published. First, the forthcoming biography, we cant publish yet because just disbursed Justice Ginsburg keeps doing Amazing Things and we cant cover them all. [applause] selecting the materials was a lot of fun but i have to tell you it wasnt easy and heres why Justice Ginsburg is an extraordinarily prolific writer and speaker and not just as a Supreme Court justice, not just as a judge, not just as a law professor for litter literature litigator, we went back over 70 years to a piece that Justice Ginsburg wrote when she was in eighth grade. [laughter] it wont surprise you to know that she was the editor of her School Newspaper in Public School in brooklyn, the name of the paper was the highway harold and the peace . The first people in this book she wrote in eighth grade. Other items in the School Newspaper talked about the circus, the school play but young ruth wrote about the ten commandments, the magna carta, the bill of rights, the declaration of independence and the United Nations charter which had just been adopted. [laughter] [applause] it was hard to select just enough to fill a book rather than gaston hall. Wendy and i met with Justice Ginsburg and kind of got a big picture of the shape we wanted the book to be in and then wendy and i exchanged 28 draft of an outline and then the great thing about working with Justice Ginsburg is that she has a phenomenal memory. We would talk about a particular speech and she would say, we might want to consider the version i gave in harris in 2008 when i talked about brown v board of education. So we did. Justice ginsburg has an amazing staff led by tim mckenzie who would then go find that piece. We were aided in the. The other fun part about collecting the pieces, we also needed to select photographs. Justice ginsburg when she was speaking at georgetown law last year, came in advanced the procedure to my office which was literally wallpapered with pictures of Justice Ginsburg at every phase of her life and of marty in her family. We had a fun time picking out different photos for the book. Finally, the last part was writing in introductory material she wrote a beautiful introduction to the book and then wendy and i had a talent in that writing an introduction for each section, we couldnt put in the whole chapter that we already written for the forthcoming biography, we had to winnow out a few of the key parts and leave something for the future. So we did that. Just a few words. First of all, i have to do a shout out to mary because she keeps me on track and on time. As anybody who knows me, thats an incredible job. She has been the gobetween between the three of us, making sure that we all produce and when we are going to produce and what we want to do. Telling us there are certain things that cant go in the book have a page limit. Thats what i went through. It was a stressful, extremely stressful but it was also wonderful. I think, if there to say, that one of our goals consistent with what we know of the justice was that we would make it inaccessible, not just to lawyers in the Legal Profession but to the general public as well. I hope we achieve that goal. You will be the judge of that because you all have the book soon and you can let us know whether you think we did it right or not. And of course, the main job was to capture the essence of the justice style, which is unique, and her substance which is a remarkable performance and somehow boil it down to its essence. Then, to present it in a book. I want to say our efforts, i cant help myself, i have to throw this in, our efforts are not just her own words but a couple other little tidbits as well. One of them you already know that she loves the opera, she starred in an opera while not quite starred but the problem is she cant sing very well. [laughter] so, she said if she could shed be a diva but as it was, she has a pretty good job. [laughter] one of the things we included in the book is an excerpt from an opera and some of you may have heard of it, its called solea ginsburg. You get a little taste of an opera about the Supreme Court in these two justices in this book. The second thing, im especially fond of, there are two excerpts from two speeches in honor of the justice by a splendid guy Ruth Ginsburg called her life partner. The late, great tax lawyer and law professor at jordan, Martin Ginsburg known to all as marty. I think youll find things in their that are eight true to who she is and at the core of it our effort together to present you with the essence of what she believes, how she operates, thanks. So, thats it. Justice ginsburg, before you were on the Supreme Court you litigated in front of the Supreme Court, in the 1970s you are ahead litigator in the womens rights project of the aclu. You took part in 34 cases before the court either litigated or co litigator, you won five out of six cases you argue there. Can you talk about how you develop your legal strategy . In those good old days the legal strategy was to win. The first was to convince judges that there was such a thing as genderbased termination. Want and then to be reenacted at the Supreme Court on monday the michigan Supreme Court to pass the law with the white for the daughter and when they came to the Supreme Court to talk about the unseemly things going on or later than 1 million who stood trial for the murder of her philandering win negative philandering abusive husband. With the center of roman family palm and family to be distracted. The objective was to let the court understand some time in the 70s. That there was such a thing as gender based discrimination. And those that were to create separate spheres. To kate take care the economic wellbeing. So with that picture in mind. To say theres something wrong with that picture of the world were not particularly good at the home job and there are many men who genuinely care for children the object is to break down that explicit gender based decisions to be expressive to me you or me. Male or female should not hold the back. So to be a principal litigator to be advocates. It was an amazing 10 years that Ruth Ginsberg led the burgeoning Womens Movement in this country with part of that strategy on top with the Supreme Court litigator she was very focused on teaching par still out in the area early cases by a nomy didnt to be closely scrutinized to try to get the court to do that when the Supreme Court did not bring itself to do that to take that middle approach and again the Supreme Court were to pull that together per barrel there is the thoughtful reading in the book about the role of dissent. Even when publicly disagreeing. With the Voting Rights act case but to righted but not publish it can you give us the sense of your philosophy of when you write a dissent . I a agreeable models in that respect that if i defended in every case tax law and nobody would read my dissent. I keep in with justice brandeis. Without with the court had done that they would bury that to become a graveyard. To be all the more compelling. For when that really mattered. Had when it comes down but many times he would vote one way but then joined the Court Opinion going the other way. So i do not take every opportunity for women that counts. Another example is that i have a role on the dissenting opinions of the security detail from Justice Ginsburg. And then the acceptance speech with the Senate Confirmation hearing was dance about the of the nomination of confirmation experience . The only and who was my guide. To take me around the of holes in with those particular senators and he would say to say it would not be wise to talk about this that. [laughter] so what i remember that the civility through the entire process. To be nominated to 141993 and was confirmed there was a bipartisan spirit in the congress or and hatch the vote was 96 teethree nevermind dollars on the board and cofounder of the human rights project mattis single question was asked about my connection the justice prior to came one year later it was pretty much the same but i wish we go back to the way it was. Or the way that it should be. You can only hope. [laughter] but what i remember about that process is the white house brings in experts to talk to the nominee and true spader ginsberg new more about each subject that was a very humbling experience i can choose any log professor that i respected i remember how popular she was not just on the board, to ask for an autograph even across party wanted a photo opportunity we would go into talk to a senator and it was clear what the senator really wanted was a picture. [laughter] i remember very fondly senator grassley and there was a group from iowa putting the london eye screen demonstration in the capital he said to the judge would you mind coming with me . It was a different time than what we have now. It was the dairy farmers. [laughter] it was the most spectacular collection of icecream laugh laugh. It was delicious. You have a new colleague as the makeup of leaks ago how does the court to change when the composition changes every time we have a new justice on the court that means we get a photograph of the new court. I think the person is the happiest is the departing junior justice which is no justice can again been no they have to open the door if anybody knox during a conference. But the most daunting tuesday after relief to see what decisions we made and she will relay those to the entourage from her press office. But then junior justice has won more assignment and that is an uphill battle but she did succeed to get a frozen yogurt machine. [laughter] and then Musical Chairs because our seats changes in the court. And then you ask about change with the new justice but the biggest is when Justice Oconnor retired. Where have been others cannot of consequence. But just from a personal point of view when there were two of us we did not look alike or speak alight when negative alike but when she laughed left there were mostly men and then this small little will minnesota picture was all wrong. Now there are three of us all over the bench and it is much better it was lonely when she left,. Most of the people in our audience today are College Students when you were in college in the 50s which classes or professors had the biggest impact on you . I do talk about my professor to literally change the way that i read and write. But listening to what you said to courses that i took at cornell that enriched my life music 101 and one 02. [laughter] so for any of view that are college to direct a meant whenever it is your main interest do take music and art. I every. You may have a lot of great decisions in your life when great decision was to marry Marty Ginsburg so can you tell us about that decision . We met we were 18 he was in his second year at cornell he had a girlfriend and i had a boyfriend. [laughter] so his friends thought that we would probably like each other aikido to movies with him so that is how we started just as friends. Then when he gave up his chemistry major because it interfered with his golf practice. In fairness he was on the golf team. [laughter] yes. He was switched to government and say what courses are you taking . Laugh laugh so somewhere along the way he was the first boy or probably the only boy i have ever known. [inaudible] but he was so secure about himself he would never regard you as a competitor. For all 56 years that we spent together he was always my biggest booster. My first year of law school marty was bragging to his classmates that as the only woman on the law review that was based solely on grades and your husband was bragging about you and another great thing about him is he said he learned early on it would be good to develop skills for women that were his mother and his wife but we had an arrangement where i would do the everyday cooking and he would do on the of weekend but then i was never allowed to cook again. [laughter] my daughter through her Highschool Years noticed this enormous difference. So marty became the only chef in our family and when i moved to the Supreme Court they would meet me for lunch and would have catering responsibilities he was always picked. But there is a book the you can get the Supreme Court gift shop is called supreme jeff that is him and it was inspired by mrs. Toledo in when marty died she said the best tribute to would be as cookbook. Key was so remarkable in so many ways if you thought of him as a tax lawyer or a professor he would be extraordinary distinguished in those ways. But all these other towns but he really was a unique person and it was a privilege to be his friend and his colleague. But you include some wonderful writing spy marty. Day you have a favorite . As agree introduction one of those is in his own words in the audio book. We have a tape of that but the other was a speech that he had written to the tenth circuit judicial conference in the summer of 2010. When he died that year his speech was already written out so i went to the fifth circuit and gave this speech and that talk is the basis for the film that is in progress. In august we will begin filming. One last question before we turn over to the audience , as have pointed out, in the of book there are excerpts from the opera and we have had excerpts from that there have been full performances that i know it and virginia this summer it will be August August 4th and 15th. [laughter] can you tell us about your decision to include those exurbs source Say Something about the opera or your relationship with Justice Scalia . The opera was written by a music major and then decided it would be helpful to know little bit about the law. So he enrolled in his hometown law school when he enrolled in the constitutional law class sometimes use reading doing opinions and decided this could make a very funny of proper the senate could come inveigh a little about the law. Soda opens with Justice Scalia aria the justices how could they possibly spout this . And know absolutely nothing about this . So that i tell him he is seeking solutions to problems that dont have easy answers but the great thing about our constitution is that it can evolve. So that sets it up in the plot is roughly based Justice Scalia goes through certain number of trials and then is punished for excessive defending. [laughter] and then i entered. [laughter] to help him get through the trials and then i was asked he is your enemy. I said no. He is my friend. That is really the theme of the opera house to people who think differently about important things can genuinely like each other and enjoy their company one of the things Justice Scalia would like every now and then would read my opinion he would call to correct my grammatical errors never on paper but always with a telephone call. Typical of him was that we disagreed sharply in the military Institute Case if they could offer those great advantages that was closed to women. We went back and forth many times like the pingpong game tuesday this is a draft of my descent of the case it is not ready to be circulated to the court. I want to give you as much time as you need because the clock is running out. So i took it on the plane with me to albany and it absolutely ruined my weekend. [laughter] the was grateful that he gave me the extra time to respond so i had the benefit so that vmi case officially the United States vs. Virginia is the case the people that all together. To be down there last month a couple months ago to celebrate the anniversary and there was a crock even bigger a huge group of people that identical uniformswith the standing elevation there were women up there. To have a photograph of the chambers those that were doing very well to now realize has made a very wise decision. Now from the audience youll have questions but we have a hard stop at 5 15 p. M. And do this would happen. Ask your question and be brief just questions from the Georgetown Community to tell us your name and what youre you are in. I am the class of 2020 this is the best part of my life right now. [cheers and applause] my question is for all the young women in this room would use sea is the Biggest Challenges and what advice would you give them . Challenges. The challenges are more daunting than what you face talking about those explicit gender lines the they cannot be Police Officers are pilots those stores are now open to you but what is left is the unconscious bias my best illustration is a Symphony Orchestra when i grew up in i never saw a woman with the critics would say the same between a woman and a man playing the violin. One day somebody came up with a brilliant idea for those who were doing the testing till sea those who are auditioning so with that women began to show up in numbers sadly we cannot repeat that in every area but my favorite the session decision from the 70s was title seven antidiscrimination law against at t for not promoting women into middle management jobs. But they failed last tasks the test which was an interview it wasnt a deliberate attempt to screen out the women but they had a certain Comfort Level if she were confronting a member of a Minority Group then you felt uneasy. It is getting over that unconscious bias so together what is called the Work Life Balance how derange work so people can have the of family life and work life . Those of the two biggest and my advice is find those allies with men and women and think of yourself as a teacher. Dont react in anger was a difficult arguing before the Supreme Court in the early 70s . I felt more like a Kindergarten Teacher laugh laugh because of the knowledge that i had his that they didnt for what they would find appealing. It was an honor to hear you speak today my daughter is focusing on security she is hoping to join the Legal Profession at some point you have contributions in all areas but is there one area women should become more involved going for record . Women can excel in any area of the law. If they want to prevent the hours of work that it takes. With no doors being closed so they can do with their best equipped to do. Would you like to add to that . In away. There are areas of the law i dont know if youre asking this question that still predominantly male by practice. Thank you. But remarkably the general trend that muchs owed to Ruth Bader Ginsburg for that but the law requires that you not be discriminated against from then doing the legal jobs from back in the day and you could be a lawyer doing serious work for the United States. And that is something that Justice Ginsburg speaks of a lot in the georgetown tradition if you can give back some how to change the law whether to during there is all sorts of ways to do that like publicinterest work is a profession and we are privileged to be in it. And i would like to say to be a great leader going through the immigration system getting lawyers to represent them that happens if the project that is now Going Forward also how many lawyers . Those that are in the field over to unhappier risks to serve 20,000 immigrants and their family is. If you look at our fellows it turns out most are women of lot of them are firstgeneration americans produce a the Georgetown Law Center is well represented and if you are interested as a College Student when you graduate there is a Community Fellows program for College Graduates to work in Community Based organizations but a large part of the problem is immigrants live in fear and you could do something substantial if you try to make their lives easier showing that the American Dream can be their dream also. The commitments is a twoyear guaranteed fellowship with the prospect of the third year. The fellows are trained in a boot camp to work with nonprofit organizations and the number of those that deal with women and children so the eminent justice core has a Rapid Response team with over 1,000 women and their children. So to provide a whole new generation of leaders has been real inspiration to work with these people. To have been example to have nothing when it began but now to have that Fellows Program and now mentioning another effort that is called doing something aside yourself. So Justice Oconnor felt the need most Elementary School students from the three branches of government so starting that program it has now been introduced to see a need to have a challenge to respond to that need. Oh my god. I am so excited. [laughter] and have a couple questions. Just one question. So do you think this is necessary. To right thing that is necessary so what we do with racism that we also deal with sexism. There is of need at any law that there is the group of people. That is not proportionately represented for that decision making. So there is need to have heightened scrutiny. We have time for one last question. [laughter] said to have incredibly impressive 10 year on the court. That is like asking me which of my six grandchildren. [laughter] all of them. I love my job every case is important i could not single out one case. One that is my favorite. To have great satisfaction. As women first aspired with west point annapolis airforce academy. Women who thought they possessed but were excluded by that time we get to the vmi case those who would seek admission it was the United States government to have the antidiscrimination policy. To be simply on the basis of gender. So to say that this the policy of the United States ended was most exhilarating. To be engineered Nuclear Scientist in that is one decision of which i am very proud. [applause] i was on the losing side but i thought my colleagues had misinterpreted. Suss to describe what this is about my headline was the ball is in far Congress Court for my colleagues have fallen into a very short walk order the majority on both sides passed the fair pay act. Justice ginsberg did has ben and extraordinary honor for all of us so here it is the of book you can get a closeup. Chairman of a Government Department like karen hudson but as noted in the program but to head to the Campus Ministry on the first floor make sure to bring along the ticket located in your program. Thank you for coming. Have a good evening. [cheers and applause] [inaudible conversations]
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