IN THE PROFESSION
Constitution was written ? The answer : White men who owned property . Who the people are in “ We the people ” has changed enormously since the Constitution was written .
• RBG understood that if Roe v . Wade were overturned , the only women who would really be adversely affected were poor women , and mostly Black women , who could not afford to travel to states that recognized a woman ’ s right to choose .
• RBG ’ s favorite majority opinions authored by her were the 1996 case against Virginia Military Institute ’ s all-male admissions policy and M . L . B . v . S . L . J ., holding that Mississippi ’ s law conditioning appeal of a decision terminating parental rights on payment of a $ 200 filing fee , was an unconstitutional deprivation of liberty , termination of parental rights being as great a deprivation of liberty as going to prison in a criminal case .
• RBG attributes President Jimmy Carter with the transformation of the federal judiciary from one where they all looked like President Carter , to one which reflected America .
• RBG ’ s dissent in Shelby County v . Holder , the 2013 case which gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by striking Section 5 of the Act ( the provision that required pre-clearance of voting legislation for former slave states ), was the catalyst for her becoming the “ Notorious RBG .” 1
• In her last interview in the book in 2019 , RBG thought the biggest hurdle for the Supreme Court would be obtaining and sustaining free and fair elections . She expressed grave concern for the ever growing way in which money and partisan gerrymandering controlled election outcomes .
The Supreme Court cases RBG would overturn are :
• Citizens United , which in RBG ’ s eyes stood for the premise that we “ have all the democracy that money can buy .”
• Nat ’ l Federation of Businesses v . Sebelius , which held that the commerce clause cannot address health care ( Obamacare ).
• Shelby County v . Holder , in which the Supreme Court eliminated Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act , believing that Congress had far more expertise in elections than did the Supreme Court .
The book concludes with a discussion not of RBG and the law , but rather of RBG ’ s way of life . RBG lived by her mother ’ s advice : a ) to not give in to her emotions ; b ) that emotions like anger , resentment , and envy are useless — they accomplish nothing and take precious time away from productive activities ; c ) to be strong and independent and to stand on your own two feet ; and d ) to always prepare for difficulties . If one of those “ useless emotions ” crept into her life , she diffused that emotion by listening to music , mostly opera . RBG believed that if someone makes a negative , mean , or critical remark to a person , that person should pretend s / he did not hear it . As Mr . Rosen puts it , “ her life was one of discipline , focus and self-mastery , always dedicated to the welfare of others .”
I recommend this book , especially to older members of the Atlanta Bar , those who graduated law school before her arguments and opinions were a mainstay in constitutional law or women ’ s rights courses . I learned a lot from the book . The read was easy , notwithstanding challenging constitutional issues as seen in the eyes of enormously diverse Justices on the Court . __________________________________
1
In 2013 , Shana Knizhnik , an NYU law student , created the “ Notorious RBG ” blog based on RBG ’ s dissent in Shelby County v . Holder , and a reference to the Notorious BIG , a deceased rapper . After that , RBG ’ s celebrity grew and her dissenting opinions became more fiery . RBG asserted that she had not changed , but that the Supreme Court changed with Justice O ’ Connor ’ s retirement in 2006 . The dissenter ’ s hope is that they are writing not for today , but for tomorrow .
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