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American flags at all public buildings in Ohio will fly at half staff to honor the life and legacy of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The flags will remain lowered until sunset on the date of her interment
Credit: AP
The American flag blows in the wind after it was lowered to half-staff Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, in Washington, after the Supreme Court announced that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died of metastatic pancreatic cancer at age 87. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

CLEVELAND — To honor the life and legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Governor Mike DeWine has ordered American flags at all public buildings in Ohio be flown at half-staff immediately until sunset on the date of her interment.

DeWine's order, issued on Saturday morning, reads:

"In honor of the life and legacy of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I hereby proclaim, by the authority vested in me as the Governor of the State of Ohio by the Ohio Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, that the flags of the United States and the State of Ohio shall be flown at half-staff upon all public buildings and grounds throughout the State of Ohio effective immediately until sunset on the date of her interment."

Ginsburg died at the age of 87 on Friday, surrounded by family and friends, due to complications related to metastatic pancreatic cancer, according to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Appointed to the nation’s highest court in 1993 by former President Bill Clinton, Ginsburg was the oldest sitting member on the court. Despite a lengthy career on the court, she had never missed arguments until January 2019.

During her time as a justice and throughout her long law career, Ginsburg overcame adversity because of her gender, fought for women’s rights and eventually became the leader of the Supreme Court’s liberal wing. 

Born on March 15, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York, Ginsburg was encouraged by her mother, Celia Bader, to excel in school and pursue her professional ambitions. Celia died of cancer the day before Ginsburg graduated high school. Her father Nathan Bader worked as a fur manufacturer during the height of the Great Depression. 

Ginsburg went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University, graduating at the top of her class in 1954. She met Martin Ginsburg, her soon-to-be husband, at Cornell, and the couple married in 1954.

They quickly started a family, with Ginsburg giving birth to their first child, Jane. She also had a son, James. In an interview with The Atlantic, Ginsburg said having children “gave me a better picture of what life is.”

Soon after, Ginsburg enrolled in Harvard Law School. There, she served as the first female member of the Harvard Law Review. 

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