fbpx

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Misses Courtroom Arguments Due to Illness

[additional-authors]
November 13, 2019
WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 12: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg arrives to deliver remarks at the Georgetown Law Center on September 12, 2019, in Washington, DC. Justice Ginsburg spoke to over 300 attendees about the Supreme Court’s previous term. (Photo by Tom Brenner/Getty Images)

(JTA) — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg missed courtroom arguments on Wednesday due to illness.

She was not on the bench for oral arguments in two cases, NBC News reported.

Chief Justice John Roberts announced from the bench that Ginsburg was “indisposed due to illness.”

A court spokesman told reporters that she was home with a stomach virus and would read the briefs and transcripts of the oral arguments in the cases.

Ginsburg, 86, underwent treatment in August for “a localized malignant tumor” on her pancreas. She had surgery last year to remove a cancerous growth from her left lung, her third bout with cancer.

She is one of three Jewish justices on the court and leads its liberal minority. She is the high court’s oldest justice.

Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.

Editor's Picks

Latest Articles

The Joy Within

Sukkot asks us to receive the harvest that has actually come in—not the one we imagined or wished for.

A Bisl Sukkot ~ Don’t Be Afraid, Go Outside

The sukkah reminds us to go out into the world, especially when the comforts of insularity beckon us closer—to explore paths we have yet to take and seek journeys ready for wandering.

A Harira Hug in the Sukkah

I love making soup for this holiday because even if the days are still warm, the cooler evenings make you start craving something warm and comforting.

The Beat Goes On

While so much of the world seems obsessed with and consumed by its hatred of Israel and Jews, Israelis continue to build, create, work, celebrate, argue, raise families, and plan for the future.

Viral AI Video Targets Jewish Comedian

“The biggest concern is that people now have a pathway to shut down Jewish voices through complete falsities that people will believe. … For the future of Jewish entertainment, it’s very scary.”

Yiddish Historians: Writing in Their Own Language for Their Own People

Mark Smith has compiled an important anthology of Jewish history using 49 works by Yiddish historians to recreate or at least open the door to a world of Jewish thought that was once almost mainstream, but which no longer exists, except in the minds of too few specialists.

The Everlasting Melody

Most Jews who have sung “Eitz Chaim” over the past half-century probably never knew Portnoy. They did not know when he wrote the melody or how young he was when he composed it. They simply knew the song.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.