RBG’s most notable Supreme Court decisions and dissents

CNN Films’ “RBG” chronicles the life and legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In the opinion, United States v. Virginia, Ginsburg wrote “generalizations about ‘the way women are,’ estimates of what is appropriate for most women, no longer justify denying opportunity to women whose talent and capacity place them outside the average description.” In a talk before the school’s cadets in 2018, Ginsburg said she knew her opinion, which opened the doors to women, “would make VMI a better place” and thought that those who were initially opposed would learn from their women classmates “how much good women could do for the institution.” The impact of the ruling continues to be felt, both at the school and in the country at large. “That case, more than any other, epitomized the justices’ effort to establish true sex equality as a fundamental constitutional norm, and its effects are continuing to reverberate today.” Shelby County In a 2013 decision out of the court, Chief Justice John Roberts led a majority invalidating a key provision in the Voting Rights Act that required certain jurisdictions with a history of descrimination to undergo federal oversight before enacting any changes in voting procedure. In her dissent, Ginsburg wrote the court had “ventured into a minefield,” adding it would disadvantage those employees “who do not share their employer’s religious beliefs.” “Any decision to use contraceptives made by a woman covered under Hobby Lobby’s or Conestoga’s plan will not be propelled by the Government, it will be the woman’s autonomous choice, informed by the physician she consults,” the liberal justice wrote. “It bears note in this regard that the cost of an IUD is nearly equivalent to a month’s full-time pay for workers earning the minimum wage.” In one of her more recent dissents, Ginsburg lambasted the court for “ women workers to fend for themselves,” in a case where the justices struck down the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate.