Notorious: The Legal Legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

In Episode 4 of Notorious, we address the case of Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Decided in 2007, Ledbetter addressed the issue of gender discrimination in the context of equal pay. Writing for a 5-4 majority of the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Alito found that employers cannot be sued under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 over race or gender pay discrimination if the claims are based on decisions made by the employer 180 days ago or more. Thus, the Court rejected Ledbetter's argument that her lack of equal pay was cumulative over her career at Goodyear.

Troubled by the majority decision, Justice Ginsburg, the then sole female justice on the Court, wrote the dissent and made a point of reading it from the bench, a rare practice. Joined by Justices Stevens, Souter, and Breyer, Justice Ginsburg argued against applying the 180-day limit to pay discrimination, because discrimination often occurs in small increments over large periods of time, i.e., cumulatively. Ginsburg argued that pay discrimination is inherently different from adverse actions, such as termination.

Kathleen Boozang, Dean of Seton Hall University School of Law, joined by Patterson Belknap attorneys Michelle Bufano, Leigh Barnwell and Sara Arrow, discuss the different views expressed by the majority and dissent, as well as relating the issues raised in the case to past and subsequent events, including the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. The first of legislation signed into law by the newly inaugurated President Obama, this law overturned the majority's decision.

Related Resources:

For a selection of Justice Ginsburg's writings, see Decisions and Dissents of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Selection, edited by Corey Brettschneider.

For more information about Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, see www.pbwt.com.

For information about becoming a guest on Notorious, email Michelle Bufano.

For questions or more information about Notorious, email Jenni Dickson.

Related People:

Kathleen Boozang

Michelle Bufano

Leigh Barnwell

Sara Arrow

In Episode 3 of Notorious, we address the case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. Decided in 2014, Hobby Lobby addressed the contraceptive requirement in a regulation adopted in conjunction with the Affordable Care Act. Hobby Lobby, and other closely held corporations, argued that the requirement was unconstitutional because it violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

A 5-4 majority of the United States Supreme Court, in an opinion authored by Justice Alito, struck down the contraceptive requirement. The Court found that closely held for profit corporations are exempt from a regulation that its owners objected to based on the ground of religious freedom. In so holding, the Court determined that there was a less restrictive means of furthering the government's interest in providing universal contraception.

Lindsey Kaley, an attorney for the American Civil Liberty Union's Ruth Bader Ginsburg Center for Liberty, joined by Patterson Belknap attorneys Michelle Bufano, Joshua Kipnees, and Jacqueline Bonneau, discuss Justice Ginsburg's scathing dissent, the case's historical context and the impact of the Court's ruling on American society.

Related Resources:

For a selection of Justice Ginsburg's writings, see Decisions and Dissents of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Selection, edited by Corey Brettschneider.

For more information about Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, see www.pbwt.com.

For information about becoming a guest on Notorious, email Michelle Bufano.

For questions or more information about Notorious, email Jenni Dickson.

Related People:

Lindsey Kaley

Michelle Bufano

Joshua Kipnees

Jacqueline Bonneau

In the second episode of Notorious, we discuss the 1996 case of United States v. Virginia, also known as the VMI case. This case, like Reed v. Reed from Episode 1, addressed the issue of gender equality under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The majority opinion, written by Justice Ginsburg, reviewed the policy under a heightened scrutiny judicial standard and struck down the all-male admissions policy at the Virginia Military Institute ("VMI").

Galen Sherwin, an attorney with the Women's Rights Project (aka "The House that Ruth Built") of the American Civil Liberties Union, along with Patterson Belknap attorneys Michelle Bufano, Justin Zaremby and Gabriela Bersuder, discuss issues of the history of gender equality, heightened judicial scrutiny, Justice Scalia, and the continued applicability of the VMI case to the ACLU's current work.

Related Resources:

For a selection of Justice Ginsburg's writings, see Decisions and Dissents of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Selection, edited by Corey Brettschneider.

For more information about Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, see www.pbwt.com.

For information about becoming a guest on Notorious, email Michelle Bufano.

For questions or more information about Notorious, email Jenni Dickson.

Related People:

Galen Sherwin

Michelle Bufano

Justin Zaremby

Gabriela Bersuder

In this inaugural episode of Notorious: The Legal Legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, we discuss the 1971 case of Reed v. Reed. The case addressed an Idaho statute, which favored males over females as administrators of estates. Petitioner Sally Reed sought to be named administrator of her deceased son's estate in lieu of her estranged husband. The brief on behalf of Sally Reed was co-authored by then Rutgers Law School Professor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the American Civil Liberties Union, among others.

In what would be a landmark decision, the United States Supreme Court held for the first time that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibited disparate treatment based on gender.

Corey Brettschneider, a professor at Brown University and editor of Decisions and Dissents of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Selection, along with Patterson Belknap attorneys Michelle Bufano, Alejandro Cruz, and Julia Livingston discuss the significance of this case to subsequent Supreme Court cases and to the history of our nation as a whole.

Related Resources:

For a selection of Justice Ginsburg's writings, see Decisions and Dissents of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Selection, edited by Corey Brettschneider.

For more information about Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, see www.pbwt.com.

For information about becoming a guest on Notorious, email Michelle Bufano.

For questions or more information about Notorious, email Jenni Dickson.

Related People:

Corey Brettschneider

Michelle Bufano

Alejandro Cruz

Julia Livingston