Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Former Law Clerks Honoring Her Outside the Supreme Court Will Bring You to Tears

As Ruth Bader Ginsburg's casket was brought to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, Sept. 23, she was welcomed back to her second home by an army of her former law clerks.

By Samantha Schnurr Sep 23, 2020 5:07 PMTags
Watch: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Dead at 87

This may be the most moving image you see today. 

Following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Sept. 18, her casket was brought to the Supreme Court on Sept. 23, where a private ceremony was held inside the Great Hall with her loved ones and fellow justices. Before the gathering unfolded, another one assembled outside the nation's highest court to welcome the 87-year-old back to her second home

There, as citizens paid their respects at the gated perimeter, an army of Ginsburg's former clerks powerfully stood in lines along and below the court's steps to honor the late feminist icon. Some clerks even served as pallbearers and carried her casket into the building. CNN reported more than 100 clerks would be there to pay tribute to their beloved boss. 

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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Life in Pictures

Chief Justice John Roberts spoke about the life of the gender equality advocate during the ceremony. "The court was her family, too. This building was her home, too," he said. "Of course, she will live on in what she did to improve the law and the lives of all of us. And yet, still, Ruth is gone and we grieve."

ALEX BRANDON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images, Library of Congress

Following the private ceremony, the public was invited to pay respect to Ginsburg, who will lie in repose under the Portico on Wednesday and Thursday. Among her visitors on Wednesday were former President Bill Clinton, who nominated her to the Supreme Court in 1993, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

As the former president said on ABC's This Week, "In a time where people are so cynical, Ruth Ginsburg symbolizes everything that's best about America and she was always completely on the level.