The eight remaining Supreme Court justices mourned and celebrated their late colleague Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in individual statements Saturday, calling her a “woman of valor,” a “hero” to many Americans, and a “cherished colleague and friend.”
“To me, as to countless others, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a hero,” wrote Justice Elena Kagan. “Her work was as careful as it was creative, as disciplined as it was visionary. It will endure for as long as Americans retain their commitment to law.”
Justice Stephen Breyer, who said he heard of her passing at Rosh Hashanah service, said “the world is a better place for her having lived in it.”
Ginsburg, who died Friday due to complications from cancer, served on the court for 27 years and had seen the Court’s makeup change dramatically over those years. Many of the justices — from those who joined the bench decades ago to those who joined more recently — acknowledged the kindness with which she had welcomed them to the nation’s highest court.
“I will miss Ruth greatly,” wrote Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who was appointed by President Barack Obama. “She welcomed me to the Court with a warmth I could not have expected, and I came to feel a special kinship with her. She was someone whose wisdom, kindness, and unwavering support I could always rely on.”
Justice Samuel Alito, a President George W. Bush appointee, echoed those sentiments: “Martha-Ann and I were deeply saddened by the news that Justice Ginsburg has passed away. Ruth and [her late husband] Marty made us feel at home immediately when I joined the Court, and we will certainly miss her.”
Her former colleagues across the political spectrum honored the contributions she had made to American society.
