Local attorney’s are remembering the life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

CLAY COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) — It is a week of goodbyes for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

As the second woman to be appointed as a Justice for the highest court, Ginsburg is remembered for her stand against gender discrimination and as a women’s rights advocate.

When Ruth Bader Ginsburg began law school in 1956, she was among a handful of women.

She was a wife, a mother, and a very determined student.

Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Michelle Eastering said her path from legal scholar to the highest court has not been smooth. But it has been admired.

“She’s a woman, and she was able to effectuate change in our law like the VMI case and the Goodyear case, she wrote the great dissent, but that she is also able to work with others on the court to accomplish those goals,” said Easterling.

Eastering said it’s important for people to know Ginsburg was a consensus builder.

“People didn’t know it, but her best friend on the court was Anton Scalia, Justice Scalia, who was completely to the opposite of her, but they worked together on a matter of grave importance to the citizens of the United States,” said Easterling.

Easterling and state Senator Angela Turner Ford are both on a professional path first laid out by lawyers like Ginsburg.

Ford remembers reading the justice’s opinions in law school and feels the bar she set will be difficult to reach.

“Being 87-years-old and having a career in the Supreme court that has spanned almost 30 years is going to be tough to master,” said Ford. “But, I believe that it is important that for anyone who is appointed to that position look to her and her legacy as something to cherish, and to put in the hard work.”

“She has been a real icon in the lives of the law and lawyers in general, but certainly in women,” said Easterling.

Ginsburg died September 18th from pancreatic cancer. She will be the first woman to lie in state at the US Capitol.