United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginburg Dies at 87

United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died, a spokesperson for the nation's highest court announced today. She was 87 years old. 

The trailblazing jurist reportedly died at her home in Washington, D.C. this evening surrounded by her family. 

Justice Ginsburg was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993. She was the second woman appointed to the Court and served more than 27 years. 

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. said of Justice Ginsburg: “Our Nation has lost a jurist of historic stature. We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her -- a tireless and resolute champion of justice.” 

Ward Two Alderman Fred Paone said despite the occasional philosophical differences with Justice Ginsburg, he admired her. "Although I may have sometimes disagreed with her judicial philosophy and some of her opinions, I had nothing but respect for her as a supreme court justice," the councilman and retired county prosecutor said.  

Justice Ginsburg was born in Brooklyn, New York, March 15, 1933. She married Martin D. Ginsburg in 1954. She received her B.A. from Cornell University, attended Harvard Law School, and received her LL.B. from Columbia Law School. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Edmund L. Palmieri, Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, from 1959–1961. From 1961–1963, she was a research associate and then associate director of the Columbia Law School Project on International Procedure. She was a Professor of Law at Rutgers University School of Law from 1963–1972, and Columbia Law School from 1972–1980, and a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, California from 1977–1978. In 1971, she was instrumental in launching the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, and served as the ACLU’s General Counsel from 1973–1980, and on the National Board of Directors from 1974–1980. She was appointed a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1980. During her more than 40 years as a Judge and a Justice, she was served by 159 law clerks.

She is survived by two children: Jane Carol and James Steven Ginsburg, four grandchildren, two step-grandchildren and one great-grandchild.  Her husband, Martin David Ginsburg, died in 2010.

Justice Ginsburg authored "My Own Words" in 2016, a compilation of her speeches and writings.

A private interment service will be held at Arlington National Cemetery.