Justice welcome the new at the bottom of the stairs. Down the from the door he greets me,r, and then we go back into the courts together. What is your philosophy in your office, there is a lot of pictures in here. About thetalk first , heress that i have one of the national gallery. And about five from the museum of art. It is painters all from the United States in the period back the 1930s. To did you pick them yourself . Yes. And what is your favorite . The favorite is in the outer room, it is called infinity, and it looks like a figure eight. What are these on your desk. Thehese are two from national gallery, these are my number one favorites of the items from the museum of american art. Talk about these photos over here, tell us just about anyone that comes to mind. Photo, Justice Kennedy and i are taking part in the Washington National play. Ors production of a from thehe ball scene play, the prince welcomes guests of the various kinds. So he welcomed the ambassador of russia, the ambassador of hungary, and then he greeted the three supremes, and we marched onto the stage and sat on a bank for the rest of that act and watched the show. What about the gavels . Me byy were given to various people, they all have inscriptions, i do not know that any of those are particularly memorable, but there is a photograph there. 1978, justice in marshall and i were judging a court at the university of california at berkeley law school. Fondeste of my remembrances, he was still in very good health. Officehen you work in an like this, what atmosphere do you want . Does it matter to you when you where you are when you do your writing and thinking . I like to be in a quiet place, i like to have my law books close at hand, in my regular chambers, all of my law books were inside. Two in that office and two down the hall. I like a quiet place, i like to be overlooking the courtyard and some of the buildings so i am not disturbed by demonstrators. What are these masks right here . These are from my first trip to china which was in 1978 when china was barely set up for tourists. Someone gave me this set of masks while i was there. What about the photos, there is a whole series back here. Those are also from a might 1978 trip to china. I was with the First AmericanBar Association delegation to visit china at the request of and i was mostt fortunate because i was the only woman on the delegation. China was not well set up for tourists yet, so i had a room of my own throughout the trip. These distinguished gentlemen had to double up. This is the same photograph that was on my book card cart. Right next to that is a photo of senator mikulski it looks like. Yes, that was taken in 1983 when i was the new justice. Example of how relative most things are. Short ame in my i short . I would say yes compared to chief justice rehnquist, but next to senator mccluskey i am a giant. That yours desk, is personal selection and where did you get it . This desk is made here at the court. A lot of the chambers have similar desks, the variation in these chambers is that i have on the desk. Top and what kind of books do you keep right there on the shelf in front of you . I consult most often. I have them in two places. Books to which i refer. What would be the book that you refer to the most often . It would be a tossup between these two. One is the federal courts and the federal system, the seventh addition. Casebookitutional law by Kathleen Sullivan. , [inaudible]s produced this book by himself. Ago, Kathleen Sullivan joined him. Death, she is carrying on the work. Is it the book that all judges and justices would have in their office . It would have some constitutional law references. What and what do you remember most about him . His brilliance and his humanity. On the other said of your desk, you have a presence corner. President s corner. How many have you known . We start with jimmy carter photograph that should be seen in association with this one. When jimmy carter became president , there was only one woman on a federal appellate in the entire country. Jimmy carter was determined to change the complexion of the u. S. Judiciary. Heres a photograph that shows president carter in october 1980. He may have said that he would lose the election. Reception for women he had appointed to the bench and said that he hoped he would be remembered for changing the face of the u. S. Judiciary. Membersinting women and of minority groups and numbers, he chose people of the very best quality. The people that had not been look for before. After he said set that pattern, no president ever retreated from it. Wasl president reagan determined to be the president who appointed the first woman to this point court. He made us lend us a splendid choice in Justice Sandra day oconnor. Thatdent carter decided the federal judiciary should draw on the talent of all of the people of the great United States and not just some of them. What did you do when his administration . Justice ginsburg i was on the u. S. Court of appeals. That was just a few blocks down the road. Before that, you had not had any government experience . I had been a long Justice Ginsburg i had been a law teacher for 17 years. One of the things you talk about is that you were before the court representing the aclu. Justice ginsburg representing a client that was up by the a cell you. By the aclu. What is the difference between standing in front of the court and being on the other . Justice ginsburg the difference is on the other, you ask the questions. Podium, the councils you answer questions. From your own experience of standing before the court, have you treated the attorneys any fruit differently because you had that experience . Justice ginsburg i think i have a keen understanding of what its like to be at the receiving end of questions. That, as an attorney, i welcomed questions from the bench. Look athat some lawyers questions as an interruption in an outward speech they are preparing. An advocate wants to know whats on the judges mind. She will welcome questions as a on of satisfying the judge the matter that the judge might not resolve as well without counsels response. I have to ask you about this picture back here. Justice ginsburg that is my husband of 55 years. Martin david ginsberg, professor of law at Jonestown University law center. Its a typical close. That was our patio. It was a good book. One of the things you have in speeches is cooking. Justice ginsburg yes. Hes the master chef in our house. I was phased out of the kitchen. 30 years ago. Does he ever cook for the court . Justice ginsburg yes. Demand at the in quarterly lunches that the Supreme Court spouses have. I may be biased and prejudiced on that. I think hes by far the best cook among the office staff. How do those quarterly lunches work . Are they just for the justices . Justice ginsburg just for the justices and spouses. The husbands and wives of justices. Invite theegularly widows of justices. Stone. Ouglas down andy stewart. Who else do you want to talk about on this table . You have bill clinton, george w. Bush, his father. Justice ginsburg two more. This was condoleezza rices swearing in as our secretary of state. Whereved in the building my husband and i lived. Is ans in a calm accomplished musician. We were fortunate to attend one evenings. Ical if ialled me and asked would administer the oath of office. I thought that was a great thing to do. It showed a bipartisan spirit. We are all proud to be serving on the u. S. Serving the usa. It should not matter that i happened to have been appointed jimmy carter and president clinton, both democrats. Was ahought that that very nice gesture on her part. Who else on this table do you want to talk about . Justice ginsburg lets talk about this one. , one ofmy granddaughter three granddaughters. Fall ofaken in the 1992. When president clinton was running for office. His wife Hillary Clinton happened to be visiting that day , the Nursery School attended by my threeyearold granddaughter. They are doing the toothbrush song together. This picture was featured in the new york post. When i saw it, i got a copy and. Ent it to my granddaughter shes now 18. I wrote on the bottom, may you always know where to stand. Who is this lady right here . Justice ginsburg thats my mother. The most intelligent person i ever knew. Sadly, she died when i was 17. I read that she debt she died the day before you graduated on high school. Justice ginsburg right. What impacted that have on you . Impact . . Did that have on you what impacted that have on you . Justice ginsburg it was one of the most trying times of my life. I knew she wanted me to study hard and get good grades and succeed in life. So thats what i did. Behind you are more pictures. I want you i want to ask you about this one. This has been published before. Justice ginsburg yes. That is a photograph of Justice Scalia and me. Ridee taking an elephant at the palace. It was the palace of the last maharajah of pakistan. Elegant elephant. It was a bumpy ride. Lets walk around your desk here. Its often reported that you and Justice Scalia are good friends. People dont understand how you could be so different in your thinking and still be friends. Can you tell us how that happens . Justice ginsburg i have known Justice Scalia since the day he was ands so taken by his wit his wonderful sense of humor. I had a lecture that he gave. I disagreed with most of what he said. I love the way he said it. Justice scalia is a very good writer. How you say it. Hes a very amusing fellow. Bench at next to me on the d. C. Circuit judge and when Justice Oconnor was with us, i was sitting next to scalia. He could Say Something that was so outrageous, so funny that i had to pinch myself so i wouldnt laugh out loud in the courtroom. So its humor . Justice ginsburg its that. He cares about family. About each others families. I know your have your robes. Tell us how that works on court today. Justice ginsburg on a court date, the ropes are kept in the robing room. We all have closets there. We enter the robing room and an attendant helps us put on our robe. In this closet, i brought up the road robe that i use most often in court. This one, it was from england. The color caller is from cape town, south africa. Robe is the standard made for a man because it has a place for his shirt to show and a tie. I Sandra Day Oconnor and thought it would be appropriate included it as part of our , something typical of a woman. I have many callers. This is one of my favorite. What is the symbolism of this being from south africa . Justice ginsburg no symbolism. I liked it. This is not a judges robe. Saw this in a museum in cape town. What is the importance of the road for a judge . Justice ginsburg its a simple. Symbol. We are all in the business of impartial judging. In the United States, the pattern was set by John Marshall , judges in the United States should not wear royal robes. They should not wear red robes or maroon robes. They should wear plain black. But every once in a while, not in this court, but when i was in law school, i wore this robe. One this one was a gift to me by the Supreme Peoples Court in china. China, i think it their95, i was aghast of a guest of their highest court and visited several courts in major cities. When i was in beijing, i admired the robes that the judges were wearing. By the time i got to shanghai, they had made up a robe for me and presented it to me as a gift. So this is my chinese robe. In canada, both the lawyers and the judges wear robes. You canthe standard see it on lawyers. The women jurors thought that theres enhance theirs with a lovely lace collar. Traditionsabout the around the robing room before an oral argument begins. Justice ginsburg as we enter the robing room, or if we are on the late side, the conference room, the first thing we do is go around the room, each justice shaking hands with every other. And thats a symbol of the work that we do as a collegial body. Temporary because he received a dissenting opinion from a colleague. But when we go to sit on the bench, we look at each other, shake hands, and its a way of saying we are in this together. We care about this institution. More than our individual egos. Devoted toall keeping the Supreme Court in the as a coequal is branch of government. World in theor the collegiality and independence of the judges. When you are miffed about some decision or something some buddy said, what do you tell yourself so you do not take it to the dinner afterwards or whatever . How do you keep it not personal . Justice ginsburg you think first. Theres another case ahead. , as a greatsense colleague once told me, when you are working on an appellate bench, you are never making decisions alone. You always have to work with colleagues. You do your best in every case. When its over, its over. You dont look back. You just go on to the next case and give it your all. Thats wonderful advice. Dont worry over what happened. To the next case. You gave a speech in boston earlier in the year were you talked about the lighter side of the court. Including the musicale. Explain that. Justice ginsburg Justice Harry blackmun spent his summers in aspen and enjoyed Music Festivals there. He decided that we should have an annual musical. When the courts hearings are , we are very busy writing opinions. Hearings,ve no more we should take timeout for a musical interlude that all of us can enjoy. He started that in 1988. Initially, it was every two years. Then it was once a year. Now we have them twice a year. When he retired, he passed the baton to Justice Oconnor. For the last seven years, i have been attending to the musicale. Where do they happen in the court . How many people can come to them . Today, theyburg take place in our beautiful conference room. We can accommodate not more than 200 people. Invite up tocan six people. Springople from the Historical Society attend. Leaders of the court staff. A new justice comes to the court and they come to you and they sit in your office and say, tell me what i should know about this court that will make it a better experience. What do you tell them . Justice ginsburg you will be surprised by the high level of collegiality here. Dividedm, i think we 54 and almost one third of all the cases. One might get a false impression from that degree of disagreement. Justice kalil once commented that in his early years on this court, there was no justice with whom he disagreed more often than justice brennan. Considerede Scalia Justice brennans best friend on the court at that time. He thought the feeling was rest appreciated. These were two men who genuinely like each other and enjoyed each others company. When you are up on the bench looking out at the court, what do you see that we dont see . Justice ginsburg i see wonderful freedom. Magnificent proportions of that courtroom. I say to myself, and my really there or is it all a dream am i really there or is it all a dream . Is one of the most beautiful courtrooms in the room world. You talked about the lunches that you all have after you have been in the court or a conference. Where are they held . Whats the atmosphere . Justice ginsburg they are held in the justice dining room, on the second floor. T is a beautiful room very well furnished. Said, isood, as i have not exactly cuisine. It comes from the public cafeteria. The justices eat the same things that any visitor to the court might choose for lunch here. Do you have to go to that . Justice ginsburg it is not obligatory. We generally do. A postot to miss argument lunch. You never know what your colleagues will be talking about. They may be talking about the case that we just heard. I wouldnt want to be absent from that discussion. I want to make my comments about it and listen to my colleagues so i will understand. Is there any symbolism to the paintings in the room of margaret and madison . Its probablyrg one of the most famous cases the court ever decided. That we have a to notlity, given given to most judges in the world. We call it judicial review for constitutionality. We interpret statutes most of the time. Ariseses, a question under our highest statute, the constitution of the United States. All people who serve government take an oath to support and defend the constitution. Word onrt has the last what the constitution means. Patternot the typical in parliamentary systems, where the legislature will have the last word. What the fundamental instrument of government means. The idea of judicial review for constitutionality, i think, is implicit in the constitutional document. It explicitl made in the great case of marbury against medicine. Let me ask you a couple more questions about the conference itself. Explain to us that room and what happens in that conference, who was in there . Justice ginsburg our conference where we allble have a particular seat. , the mostjustice , john associate just it paul stevens. Cases, we goss around the room in seniority order. The chief will summarize the case. Giving his tentative view. The rest of us will say. What we think about the case. How it should come out and why. Is there an argument that ensues . ,ustice ginsburg generally there is limited argument. Initially, we go around the table and each justice speaks. Then there will be some but not a lot of cross conversation. One justice or another will say after weve talked for several out in, it will all come the writing. Lets leave it for now. What this court produces is an opinion of the court. You are not writing just for yourself. You are writing for the entire court. Of what to take account they think. We dont have any observers in the conference room. No one can enter the room who is not a justice. No secretary, no law clerk, not even a message bearer. It would look strangely oldfashioned, i think, to most people. You will not see a laptop in that room. By each justice individually. By hand. The conferences are not recorded. A privateust conversation among the justices. What the public will see eventually is an opinion with. Easons what makes jud