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Ruth Bader Ginsburg Misses Courtroom Arguments Due to Illness

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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.

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