The four women who have served on the Supreme Court of the United States. From left to right: Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (Ret.), Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Justice Elena Kagan in the Justices’ Conference Room, prior to Justice Kagan’s Investiture Ceremony on October 1, 2010. /Photo by U.S. Supreme Court
By Rep. Aaron Lieberman, D-Paradise Valley
Arizona Capitol Times
(Editor’s note: Opinion pieces are published for discussion purposes only.)
Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, the world has lost a champion for women and equality whose strong voice on workers’ rights, civil rights and the separation of church and state brought forth much-needed reform to build a more fair and just society.
Ginsburg’s legal career was intertwined with that of the only woman to precede her as a Supreme Court justice, Arizona’s own Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
One great way to honor the inseparable and indispensable legacies of both women would be to vote to ratify the ERA in Arizona next legislative session.
Long before her almost 30-year service on the Supreme Court, Ginsburg had built an impressive legal legacy. After attending Harvard Law, one of only nine women admitted, and eventually graduating first in her class from Columbia Law, she faced a shocking wall of discrimination when seeking employment as a lawyer.
