Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has Passed Away the Race to fill her Seat Begins

by Jaskaran Bajwa

On September 18, 2020, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had tragically passed away. She had been battling cancer for many years and had survived both pancreatic cancer and colon cancer, but sadly succumbed to the disease and passed away.

Justice Ginsburg was an advocate for the rights of women, minorities, and the LGTBQ+ community. Prior to her judicial service, she was a litigator arguing multiple cases before the Supreme Court that advanced the rights of women. Without her service, women would still not be paid equally in the army, women would not be able to receive the same benefits as men, men would not be able to collect their wife’s social security, and overall women would legally be inferior. She ruled on many notable cases such as the United States v. Virginia which made it illegal for Virginia Military Institute to refuse enrollment to women. Her work was a large step forward in the battle for equality, and her impact will be felt for many generations to come.

While many are still mourning Justice Ginsburg’s death, the political machine must still go on and the Republican-controlled Senate has announced plans to go forward with President Trump’s supreme court nominee. This comes as a surprise due to the stark contrast to their words in 2016, when they said they would not hear President Obama’s supreme court nominee, citing that it was too close to an election.

President Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland did not receive a hearing or a vote.

The main justification that the Republican Party is using to go on with the nomination is the simple fact that they have expanded their majority. Republican Senator Tom Cotton stated, “The American people didn’t just re-elect Republicans they expanded our majority.” Many have called out the Republican Party on their hypocrisy regarding their decision to go forward with President Trump’s nominee.

This nominee comes at a crucial time when the balance of the Supreme Court is at stake. The Supreme Court currently, without Justice Ginsburg, leans toward conservative views. President Trump’s previous nominees, Niel Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh shifted the court further to the right, with Justice Ginsburg acting as a counteracting force. The Supreme court could be the “most conservative it’s been since 1950”.

President Trump’s nominee, Amy Coney Barret, is a current judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and a former professor of Constitutional Law at Notre Dame University Law School. Judge Barett has an accomplished record in her teaching and academic career. She graduated first in her class at Notre Dame Law School and clerked for the late Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia. She was awarded the “Distinguished Professor of the Year” award three times.

The issue many Democratic Senators and observers have with Judge Barett is not with her abilities to understand the law, but rather her views of the law. Judge Barett is a devout Catholic and adheres to the judicial philosophy of Originalism. Originalism being the judicial philosophy that one must look at the constitution in the same way that the founding fathers did when women could not vote and people still owned humans. In her confirmation hearing to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, her view on debated issues, such as abortion, LGBT rights, and the affordable care act, are unfavorable. Senator Dianne Feinstein of California stated that the “Dogma lives very loudly in you,” which caused controversy and was seen as an attack on Barret’s Catholic faith.

Judge Barret has stated she will adhere to the precedent that has been set by the courts. This statement has come into question specifically in two cases regarding abortion that have come before her as an appeals court judge. Barret ruled to restrict access to abortion both times.

This is a tumultuous time in American history especially as we near the presidential election. This open Supreme Court seat is a debated topic, especially with important issues such as LGBT rights, immigration, female reproductive rights, and the Affordable Care Act’s future all depending on the seat. Right now the future seems unclear.