1933-2020
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg touched the hearts and lives of scores of lawyers across Texas, and many wondered Friday evening and Saturday whether an appellate judge from the Lone Star State might be on President Donald Trump’s shortlist to replace the historic jurist.
The news of Justice Ginsburg’s death Friday led to discussions among dozens of Texas business lawyers debating on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter whether Judge James Ho or Judge Kyle Duncan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit could be in line for a promotion to the nation’s highest court.
President Trump said on Saturday that he would like nominate a woman for the position.
Most lawyers tended to agree that U.S. Senator Ted Cruz is no longer on the president’s list of potential nominees.
The overwhelming sentiment among conservative and liberal lawyers is that Justice Ginsburg will go down as one of the great civil rights lawyers in U.S. history and that her influence was undeniable.
“Thank you, RBG, for having the courage challenging laws that were unfair to both men and women,” Yvette Ostolaza said. “You changed my life and made our country a better place.”
Marcy Hogan Greer, managing partner of Alexander Dubose & Jefferson in Houston, said “it is almost incomprehensible to imagine a world without” Justice Ginsburg.
“She has done so much to protect the rule of law and the rights of those with limited access to the justice system,” Greer said. “I can only hope that her legacy will be as enduring as the impact she has had on me and so many of the women and girls of this nation.”
Chad Baruch, an appellate partner at Johnston Tobey Baruch in Dallas, said that “Justice Ginsburg’s influence is hard to fathom.”
“We don’t often see judges on coffee mugs, or mousepads, or spoofed on Saturday Night Live,” Baruch said. “She became a cultural icon. But at the same time, even those who disagreed with her knew she was a legal heavyweight.”
Nearly every lawyer agrees that a third Trump appointee to the Supreme Court will dramatically shift it to the right.
“Her death is the loss of an intellectual force on the Court and a role model for the entire country,” said David Coale of Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann. “On the liberal wing of the Court, she was both a strong writer and a smart strategist.”
“A Republican appointment to replace her would likely mean a solid conservative majority, with Chief Justice Roberts no longer serving as a swing,” Coale said.
Baker Botts D.C. partner Jay Alexander, who clerked for Justice Ginsburg when she was on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, said she was “one of our nation’s most powerful and enduring voices for equality, justice and human decency.”
“Justice Ginsburg was a teacher and a model of unchecked excellence who worked late into the night, seemingly every night, to always try to get it ‘right.’ May we all have the Justice’s wisdom to listen intently, to learn from those with whom we disagree and to be better for the effort.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a statement describing Justice Ginsburg as a “remarkable woman, a fighter of top intellect and reason.”
“Justice Ginsburg broke countless barriers throughout her long, distinguished career and served as an example for women across the country,” Paxton stated. “We are thankful for her service.”