Thousands expected to honour Ruth Bader Ginsburg at US SC

Thousands of people are expected to pay their respects at the Supreme Court to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg the womens rights champion leader of the courts liberal bloc and feminist icon who died last weekEven with the court closed to the public because of the coronavirus pandemic and Washington already consumed with talk of Ginsburgs replacement the justices former colleagues family close friends and the public will have the chance Wednesday and Thursday to pass by the casket of the second woman to serve on the Supreme CourtGinsburgs flagdraped casket arrived at the court at 930 am and was carried into the courts Great Hall past her former law clerks who lined the steps Inside the courts remaining eight justices were together for the first time since the building was closed in March and they resorted to meetings by telephoneGinsburg will lie in repose for two days at the court where she served for 27 years and before that argued six cases for gender equality in the 1970s Nearly 200 members of the public had gathered to pay their respects by early morning intermingling with dog walkers and joggers who cut through the crowd At the front of the crowd were attorneys Cara Stewart and Jenny BeeneSkuban who drove overnight from the Cincinnati area to be thereI felt like I couldnt not be here said Stewart a publicinterest lawyer from Martin Kentucky Stewart said she particularly identified with Ginsburgs early career as a civil rights advocate What moves me more is her career before the court she saidUsing the courts for justice and being successful thats not easy to do BeeneSkuban of Cincinnati said Ginsburgs career blazed trails for women who came after her Were here to recognise the shoulders were standing on she saidOutside the building chairs and monitors were set up Following a private ceremony Wednesday in the courts Great Hall her casket will be moved outside the building to the top of the courts front steps so that public mourners can pay their respects in line with public health guidance for the pandemicSince her death Friday evening people have been leaving flowers notes placards and all manner of Ginsburg paraphernalia outside the court in tribute to the woman who became known in her final years as the Notorious RBGCourt workers cleared away the items and cleaned the court plaza and sidewalk in advance of Wednesdays ceremony Following past practice at the traditionladen court Ginsburgs casket is expected to arrive just before 930 am EDT Wednesday the court said Supreme Court police will carry it up the court steps which will be lined by former Ginsburg law clerks serving as honorary pallbearersChief Justice John Roberts and the other justices will be in the Great Hall when the casket arrives and is placed on the Lincoln Catafalque the platform on which President Abraham Lincolns coffin rested in the Capitol rotunda in 1865A 2016 portrait of Ginsburg by artist Constance P Beaty will be displayed nearby Its unclear whether President Donald Trump would visit the court before he leaves town Wednesday afternoon though he did pay respects when Justice John Paul Stevens died last year and President Barack Obama visited the court after Justice Antonin Scalias death in 2016The entrance to the courtroom along with Ginsburgs chair and place on the bench next to Roberts have been draped in black a longstanding court custom These visual signs of mourning which in years past have reinforced the sense of loss will largely go unseen this yearThe court begins its new term October 5 but the justices will not be in the courtroom and instead will hear arguments by phone After the private ceremony inside the court Ginsburgs casket will be on public view from 11 am to 10 pm on Wednesday and 9 am to 10 pm on Thursday Heather Setzler a physicians assistant from Raleigh North Carolina started her drive at 1 am to be at the courtSetzler said on annual trips to Washington she always set aside an hour or so to tour the Supreme Court and hang out in the cafeteria hoping for an impromptu chance to meet She appreciated not only the serious legacy she left behind but was also a fan of the pop culture phenomenon that surrounded the Notorious RBG naming her two cats Hillary Ruth and Kiki in honour of Ginsburgs childhood nicknameOn Friday Ginsburg will lie in state at the Capitol the first woman to do so and only the second Supreme Court justice after William Howard Taft Taft had also been president Rosa Parks a private citizen as opposed to a government official is the only woman who has lain in honour at the Capitol Ginsburg will be buried beside her husband Martin in a private ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery next week Martin Ginsburg died in 2010She is survived by a son and a daughter four grandchildren two stepgrandchildren and a greatgrandchild Ginsburgs death from cancer at age 87 has added another layer of tumult to an already chaotic election yearTrump and Senate Republicans are plowing ahead with plans to have a new justice on the bench perhaps before the November 3 election Only Chief Justice Roger Taney who died in October 1864 died closer to a presidential election Lincoln waited until December to nominate his replacement Salmon Chase who was confirmed the same dayKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever