5 key Supreme Court cases that highlight Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s legacy

Jonathan Vanian

<p>Americans mourned the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday, with numerous politicians and scholars pointing to her legacy involving some of the most pivotal legal cases in the nation’s history.</p><div class="paywall-selector"></div><div class="paywall">



<p>Ginsburg&nbsp;<a href="https://fortune.com/2020/09/18/supreme-court-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-dies-at-87/">leaves a legacy</a> in which her status as a high-profile member of the court helped score major victories for Democrats and liberals on numerous hotly contested issues. Since her 1993 appointment to the Supreme Court by former president Bill Clinton, Ginsberg participated in landmark cases that covered issues ranging from abortion rights to same-sex marriage.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Justice Ginsburg paved the way for so many women, including me. There will never be another like her. Thank you RBG.</p>&mdash; Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) <a href="https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/1307108157408378880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 19, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<p>Here’s a small sample of some of the key cases in which Ginsburg played a significant role:</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>United States v. Virginia, 1996</strong></h2>



<p>In United States v. Virginia, Ginsberg wrote the&nbsp;<a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/518/515/">majority opinion</a> that would serve as a milestone moment for women’s rights and university admission policies. The case challenged a policy by the Virginia Military Institute that barred women from being admitted to the institution. Although the state of Virginia said it would create a separate educational program for women for the military institute, Ginsberg questioned its merits,&nbsp;<a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/518/515/case.pdf">writing</a> that “Women seeking and fit for a VMI-quality education cannot be offered anything less, under the Commonwealth’s obligation to afford them genuinely equal protection.”</p>



<p>“Neither federal nor state government acts compatibly with equal protection when a law or official policy denies to women, simply because they are women, full citizenship stature-equal opportunity to aspire, achieve, participate in and contribute to society based on their individual talents and capacities,” Ginsberg wrote.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Olmstead v. L.C., 1999</strong></h2>



<p>The Supreme Court’s <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/527/581/">ruling</a> in Olmstead v. L.C. proved a victory for the rights of people with disabilities. In the case, two women with mental disabilities were ordered to remain in a psychiatric facility even though some medical professionals believed they could live healthy lives in a “community-based program.” </p>



<p>Ginsberg&nbsp;<a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/527/581/case.pdf">wrote</a>:</p>



<p><em>States are required to place persons with mental disabilities in community settings rather than in institutions when the State’s treatment professionals have determined that community placement is appropriate, the transfer from institutional care to a less restrictive setting is not opposed by the affected individual, and the placement can be reasonably accommodated, taking into account the resources available to the State and the needs of others with mental disabilities.&nbsp;</em></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire &amp; Rubber Co., 2007</strong></h2>



<p>Ginsberg famously dissented from the Supreme Court’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2006/05-1074">decision</a> in the case of&nbsp;Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire &amp; Rubber Co, which ended up making it more difficult for workers to sue their employers over allegations of wage discrimination.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The decision was so troubling to Ginsberg, she chose to read her dissent from the bench, which&nbsp;<em>The Washington Post</em><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/29/AR2007052900740.html"> </a><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/29/AR2007052900740.html">reported</a> at the time was “a usually rare practice that she has now employed twice in the past six weeks to criticize the majority for opinions that she said undermine women&#8217;s rights.”</p>



<p>&#8220;In our view, the court does not comprehend, or is indifferent to, the insidious way in which women can be victims of pay discrimination,&#8221; Ginsberg said.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Obergefell v. Hodges, 2015</strong></h2>



<p>The outcome of Obergefell v. Hodges was a major&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2014/14-556">moment</a> for same-sex couples and the rights of LGBTQ Americans. In the case, a number of same-sex couples sued their respective states over bans against same-sex marriages and not recognizing their legal marriages. Ginsberg’s vote helped overturn the marriage bans; legalizing same-sex marriage in every U.S. state.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“We have changed our idea about marriage,” Ginsberg said during <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=2ihmDwAAQBAJ&amp;pg=PA71&amp;lpg=PA71&amp;dq=%E2%80%9CMarriage+today+is+not+what+it+was+under+the+common+law+tradition,+under+the+civil+law+tradition,%E2%80%9D&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=fIsKtAox-n&amp;sig=ACfU3U1X8zjbxhdXIHIwNA7bBpkSn1YcRQ&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwib2v6uhvTrAhWRCTQIHXk8AdYQ6AEwBHoECAcQAQ#v=onepage&amp;q=%E2%80%9CMarriage%20today%20is%20not%20what%20it%20was%20under%20the%20common%20law%20tradition%2C%20under%20the%20civil%20law%20tradition%2C%E2%80%9D&amp;f=false">oral arguments</a>. “Marriage today is not what it was under the common law tradition, under the civil law tradition.”&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, 2016</strong></h2>



<p>In the case of Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, the Supreme Court’s&nbsp;<a href="applewebdata://104170E8-44B5-4BAB-BDF6-B7CF6D38849F/draconian">decision</a> helped strike down the contentious H.B.2 law in Texas that imposed a number of regulations on abortion clinics, seemingly designed to deter women from obtaining the procedure, among other critiques. Ginsberg <a href="https://time.com/4383778/ruth-bader-ginsburg-supreme-court-abortion-ruling/">said</a> at the time that “it is beyond rational belief that H. B. 2 could genuinely protect the health of women, and certain that the law ‘would simply make it more difficult for them to obtain abortions.’”</p>



<p>She added: “When a State severely limits access to safe and legal procedures, women in desperate circumstances may resort to unlicensed rogue practitioners,&nbsp;<em>faute de mieux</em>, at great risk to their health and safety.”</p></div>

Five key Supreme Court cases show the significance Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the United States, underscoring her legacy.

5 key Supreme Court cases that highlight Ruth Bader Ginsburg's legacy

F-BreakingNews

ruth bader ginsburg

Politics

5 key Supreme Court cases that highlight Ruth Bader Ginsburg's legacy | Fortune

Mike Zamore

Why Trump’s attacks on free speech should alarm all Americans, not just his latest targets

/2025/04/02/trump-admin-free-speech-first-amendment/

Irina Ivanova

Elon Musk, Donald Trump and cabinet members

Hundreds of federal buildings, some of them historic, are on the auction block as part of DOGE’s effort to privatize everything  

/2025/04/02/hundreds-of-federal-buildings-some-of-them-historic-are-on-the-auction-block-as-part-of-doges-effort-to-privatize-everything/

Matthew Lee

Lorne Cook

The Associated Press

What degree of power will America command in NATO? Europe warily awaits U.S. secretary Marco Rubio to determine the future of the alliance

/europe/2025/04/02/power-us-nato-europe-awaits-marco-rubio-determine-future-alliance-russia-trump-ukraine/

Eleanor Pringle

‘The smell of stagflation’ is mounting as Trump’s Liberation Day arrives

/2025/04/02/stagflation-fears-mounting-trump-liberation-day-tariffs/

Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez

Analysts at Trump ally Howard Lutnick’s former firm call RFK Jr. ‘an anti-vax, conspiracy theorist with inadequate training’

/2025/04/02/trump-robert-f-kennedy-jr-hhs-fda-anti-vax-conspiracy-theorist/

Carla K. Johnson

Mass layoffs hit HHS researchers, scientists, doctors, support staff and leaders in RFK Jr. overhaul: ‘The revolution begins today!’

/2025/04/02/mass-layoffs-hit-hhs-researchers-scientists-doctors-rfk-jr/

Paolo Confino

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink says almost everyone he talks to is ‘more anxious about the economy than any time in recent memory’

https://fortune.com/2025/03/31/blackrock-larry-fink-annual-letter-economy-uncertainty-tariffs-recession/?itm_source=parsely-api

Sydney Lake

Roughly half of Gen Z workers say they don't want to return to the office because it means they can't binge-watch their favorite TV shows during work anymore

https://fortune.com/2025/04/01/gen-z-workers-streaming-while-working-from-home-survey/?itm_source=parsely-api

Retail Brew

Target can't get its footing after its DEI program demise and a 40-day boycott against the retailer. Foot traffic at stores is down for the eighth consecutive week

https://fortune.com/2025/04/01/target-dei-demise-boycott-foot-traffic-down-eighth-consecutive-week/?itm_source=parsely-api

Sasha Rogelberg

DOGE's access to the payroll system of 276,000 federal employees puts government on path to have 'unprecedented power and control' over Americans' information, experts say

https://fortune.com/2025/04/01/doge-access-payroll-system-privacy-cybersecurity-concerns/?itm_source=parsely-api

Beatrice Nolan

Elon Musk's DOGE is undermining the Social Security Administration's technology and operations, former White House official says

https://fortune.com/2025/04/01/elon-musk-doge-social-security-benefits-cut-breaking-technology-former-white-house-official/?itm_source=parsely-api

Jason Ma

Social Security employee warns 'people could be out of benefits for months' as staffers who fix payment glitches exit

https://fortune.com/2025/03/29/social-security-benefits-payment-systems-doge-cuts-paper-checks/?itm_source=parsely-api