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Former law clerks for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg stand on the steps of the Supreme Court as they await the arrival of the casket of Ginsburg on Wednesday. [Alex Brandon | Pool | AFP via Getty Images]

Justice Ginsburg Honored At The Supreme Court

By: Alana Wise | Brian Naylor | NPR
Posted on: Wednesday, September 23, 2020

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Updated at 9:33 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NPR) — Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in repose at the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday and Thursday, a two-day event honoring a justice who was both a cultural and legal icon.

Ginsburg’s casket arrived at the courts ahead of a private ceremony in the Great Hall, attended by her family, close friends and members of the court.

Afterward, her casket will be moved under the Portico at the top of the front steps of the Supreme Court building for members of the public to pay respects. The court said public viewing would be allowed from 11 a.m. ET until 10 p.m. on Wednesday and from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m. on Thursday.

The White House announced Wednesday morning that President Trump will pay his respects to the late justice on Thursday at the court. On Friday, Ginsburg will become the first woman to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol, an honor reserved for Americans considered to have lived a life of distinguished service to the nation.

According to the court’s website, former law clerks to Justice Ginsburg served as honorary pallbearers and lined the front steps as the casket arrived. Supreme Court police officers served as pallbearers. “The Justices will remain inside the Great Hall where the casket will be placed on the Lincoln Catafalque, which has been loaned to the Court by the U.S. Congress for the ceremony. A 2016 portrait of Justice Ginsburg by Constance P. Beaty will be on display in the Great Hall.”

The flag-draped casket of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg arrives at the Supreme Court. [J. Scott Applewhite | AP]

Ginsburg’s death last week, less than 50 days before the election, raised near-immediate political questions over whether Republicans could — or should — confirm a new justice during an election year.

When Justice Antonin Scalia died unexpectedly in 2016, nearly nine months ahead of that year’s general election, Republicans successfully blocked then-President Barack Obama’s nomination of a justice to the court, citing the proximity to the election.

Now, however, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., argues that voters who put Republicans in power in both the White House and Senate have endorsed the GOP judicial agenda. And it appears his party members agree.

Ginsburg’s vacant seat would be President Trump’s third nomination to the high court. The confirmation of an additional conservative justice would likely have generations-long implications for the court — and its opinions on a range of issues.

Trump has said he will announce his nominee to the court, promising to select a woman, on Saturday.