Fault Lines

“People are very angry at her, because I got to appoint people instead of Biden.” Donald Trump

A liberal legal legend and feminist icon for gender equality and civil rights, unwittingly altered the ideological balance of the court for a generation. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s decision not to retire during the Obama administration, a critical miscalculation, enabled the 6-3 conservative shift following her death at 87.

Her refusal to step down is a cautionary tale for aging justices to consider strategic retirements under a friendly administration and Senate control of the appointment process. Supreme Court justices are appointed for life.