Ruth Bader Ginsburg only lost one case as an oral advocate in the Supreme Court: Kahn v. Shevin. The case involved a challenge to a Florida law according a special tax exemption to female widows, but not male widowers. Every widow got the tax exemption, regardless of her income–even the wealthy widowed woman of Palm...

The Blind, the Lame, and the Widows

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Episode 8 [Rebroadcast]: Lauren breaks down the final tape of Ginsburg’s career as an advocate before the Supreme Court, and reflects on what she’s learned through this project. Questions for Lauren? Shoot her an email at ginsburgtapes@gmail.com, or find her on Twitter @laurenmoxley.

We Won’t Settle for Tokens (Finale Rebroadcast)

Episode 7 (Rebroadcast): After Leon Goldfarb’s wife, Hannah Goldfarb, passed away, he was denied benefits available to sole surviving spouses that he would have obtained if their gender-roles were reversed. Ruth Bader Ginsburg represented Leon in challenging the law. The government argued that Ginsburg wanted to “characterize this as a women’s rights case because the cause...

Ride on Its Skirttails (Rebroadcast)

Episode 6 (Rebroadcast): When did the Supreme Court finally raise the bar for sex equality under the Constitution?  In a case about beer. In Oklahoma, women could buy 3.2% alcohol beer at 18, but men had to wait until they turned 21.  Two fraternity brothers at Oklahoma State University teamed up with a co-owner of...

Near Beer and the Middle Tier (Rebroadcast)

Episode 5 (Rebroadcast): After Stephen Wiesenfeld’s wife Paula died giving birth to their son, he was denied benefits available to sole surviving mothers with modest incomes. Had Stephen and Paula’s places been reversed, Paula would have received those benefits. Ruth Bader Ginsburg represented Stephen in challenging the social security law. She used the case to show how...

Not a Pedestal, But a Cage (Rebroadcast)

Episode 4 (Rebroadcast): Edwards v. Healy involved a challenge to a Louisiana law that excused women from the duty to serve on juries. In Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s third oral argument before the Supreme Court, she tried to get the Court to overturn a ruling of just 13 years earlier upholding a volunteers-only jury scheme for...

The Blind, the Lame, and the Widows

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