Ginsburg to lie in state at US Capitol on Friday
She will be first woman in history so honored
WASHINGTON – Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol on Friday, becoming the first woman in history so honored.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Monday that Ginsburg’s casket would be placed in National Statuary Hall, where a formal ceremony will be held for invited guests only.
A separate ceremony will be Wednesday morning at the Supreme Court for Ginsburg’s family, close friends and members of the court. The public then will have the chance to pay their respects from about 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday, and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday, under the portico at the top of the courthouse steps.
Thirty-four men have been so honored at the Capitol since 1852. Civil rights icon Rosa Parks, who was not a public official, was lain in “honor” at the Capitol Rotunda in 2005, but Ginsburg will be the first woman to lie in state.
The last person so honored was Georgia congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis, who died in July. Most of those who have lain in state were presidents, prominent members of Congress and military leaders. The only other Supreme Court justice to lie in state was William Howard Taft, who served as chief justice after his term as president.
Ginsburg’s casket will be placed on the Lincoln Catafalque, which first supported President Abraham Lincoln’s casket in the Capitol in 1865.
A private interment service will be next week at Arlington National Cemetery, where Ginsburg’s husband Martin was buried in 2010.
Ginsburg, 87, died Friday following a battle with pancreatic cancer. Since then, thousands have left flowers and memorials outside the high court in a showing of sympathy and support.