USA TODAY International Edition
Ginsburg returns to Supreme Court bench
Justice, 85, had surgery to treat lung cancer
WASHINGTON – Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg reclaimed her seat on the bench Tuesday, precisely 60 days after undergoing surgery for lung cancer.
The court’s eldest justice, who turns 86 next month, has been the subject of intense speculation for two reasons: She is a three-time cancer survivor, and the potential for President Donald Trump to choose her successor thrills conservatives and frightens liberals.
That potential appeared less likely Tuesday with Ginsburg’s return, which had been anticipated since she attended the justices’ private conference Friday. Ginsburg also turned up this month at a concert dedicated to her life in the law that was given by her daughter-in-law.
And on Tuesday, she not only appeared healthy, she also asked the first question from the bench during oral argument, a role she frequently plays.
Ginsburg’s third bout with cancer in 20 years alarmed those on the political left, including some who had hoped she would retire when President Barack Obama could have named her successor. Were she to leave the court, Trump would get his third and best chance to make the high court more conservative, perhaps for decades to come.
Her two-month recovery is considered standard following a pulmonary lobectomy, which in her case entailed the removal of two malignant nodules from her left lung. But when Ginsburg missed six days of oral arguments in January – the first time in her 25-year career she was not on the bench – it set tongues wagging in Washington.
Fortunately for her, the court has an extremely light schedule this month – just six oral arguments over five days, including only two this week. The pace picks up in March and April, when the court completes its argument calendar, and through June, when the bulk of its 60-plus decisions are issued.
Ginsburg’s latest health scare began in early November, when she fell in her office and fractured three ribs on her left side. She spent a night in the hospital, resumed working from home and was in court for the next round of oral arguments later that month.
It was during treatment for the chest injury that her lung cancer was discovered. Ginsburg had surgery Dec. 21 and spent five days in the hospital. Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg announced Jan. 11 that her recovery was “on track.”
“Post-surgery evaluation indicates no evidence of remaining disease, and no further treatment is required,” Arberg said.
Despite her concert appearance, Ginsburg did not attend Trump’s State of the Union address on Feb. 5, repeating a snub from the past two years. That reignited ill-informed rumors circulating in the internet’s darkest corners that she was dead.
Ginsburg’s extraordinary life story – a legal trailblazer against gender discrimination in the 1970s, followed by 12 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and a quarter-century on the Supreme Court – has become legendary.
Felicity Jones plays Ginsburg in “On the Basis of Sex,” which has been in theaters since December. A documentary, “RBG,” is nominated for two Academy Awards. She’s the subject of several recent books, a comic opera, a workout regimen, a Tumblr blog, a “Saturday Night Live” routine and a wide array of paraphernalia, from T-shirts to tote bags.
Since her fall in November, which forced her to miss the formal investiture ceremony for new Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh the next day, Ginsburg’s health has commanded attention. She was forced to cancel appearances in Los Angeles and New York, including at the iconic 92nd Street Y in Manhattan.
Ginsburg endured a lengthy battle with colorectal cancer in 1999. A decade later, she had pancreatic cancer, often deadly but in her case detected early. She endured the death of her husband of 56 years, Martin Ginsburg, in 2010, and a heart procedure that required a stent in 2014.
All the while, she did not miss a day in court until this year.