On April 29, 1997, the NYU Annual Survey of American Law dedicated its 54th Volume to noted Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Speaking at the dedication in Ginsburg's honor were, among others, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. Harry T. Edwards, University of California Law School (Boalt Hall) Dean Herma Hill Kay, and NPR and ABC "Nightline" correspondent Nina Totenberg.
Birth, Residence, and Family
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born March 15, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Nathan Bader and Celia Amster Bader. In 1954, she married Martin D. Ginsburg, now a professor of tax law at Georgetown University Law Center. They have two children: Jane C. Ginsburg, a professor at Columbia Law School, and James S. Ginsburg, a producer of classical recordings.
Education
Elementary and high schools: P.S. 238 and James Madison High School, Brooklyn, New York. College: Cornell University, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, B.A. 1954, with high honors in Government and distinction in all subjects, College of Arts and Sciences Class Marshal. Law schools: attended Harvard Law School (1956-58), Harvard Law Review; Columbia Law School, LL.B. (J.D.) 1959, Columbia Law Review, Kent Scholar.
Judicial Offices
Nominated by President Carter to United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; took oath of office June 30, 1980. Nominated by President Clinton as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; took oath of office August 10, 1993.
Law Clerkship
Clerk to the Honorable Edmund L. Palmieri, United States District Court, Southern District of New York (1959-61).
Law Teaching
Columbia Law School Project on International Procedure: Research Associate (1961-62), Associate Director (1962-63); Rutgers University School of Law: Professor (1963-72); Columbia Law School: Professor (1972-80); Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (Stanford, California): Fellow (1977-78). Faculties visited: New York University School of Law (Spring 1968), Harvard Law School (Fall 1971), University of Amsterdam (Summer 1975), University of Strasbourg (Summer 1975), Salzburg Seminar in American Studies (Summer 1984), Aspen Institute (Summer 1990).
Law Practice and Professional Activities
Admitted to New York Bar in 1959 and District of Columbia Bar in 1975. American Civil Liberties Union: Women's Rights Project, Founder and Counsel (1972-80); General Counsel (1973-80); National Board of Directors (1974-80). Other affiliations include: American Bar Foundation Board of Directors, Executive Committee, and Secretary (1979-89), American Bar Association Journal Board of Editors (1972-78); ABA Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, Council Member (1975-81); American Law Institute, Council Member (1978-1993); American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow (1982-); Council on Foreign Relations (1975-).
Legal Writing
Books authored include: Civil Procedure in Sweden (1965) (with Anders Bruzelius); Text, Cases, and Materials on Sex-Based Discrimination (1974) (with Herma Hill Kay and Kenneth M. Davidson). Has contributed numerous articles to law reviews and other periodicals on civil procedure, conflict of laws, constitutional law, and comparative law.