By Derek Jiang
On a hot summer Indian day in 1994, the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg rode an elephant together, smiling as they approached their quarters.1 Ginsburg, a Clinton appointee, championed gender equality in her majority opinion in U.S. v. Virginia. The Reagan appointed Scalia, on the other hand, fiercely opposed the ruling, arguing it created new Constitutional interpretations.2 Scalia called for the repeal of certain sections of the Voting Rights Act, under the premise that they violated the equal sovereignty of the states. When the courts finally did so in Shelby County v. Holder, Ginsburg dissented ferociously.3 Despite their vastly different interpretations of the law, the two justices were, in Ginsburg’s own words, “best buddies,” frequently attending operas together.4 Their views could not have been more apart, but they were one and the same in their respect for the Constitution and for each other.
Continue reading Bill of Rights Institute : We the Students Essay Contest Winning Essay 2019-2020
