Essay Questions

What is the “Five Mississippi Rule” in regard to clerks meeting with Ginsburg?

The justice apparently was not bothered by socially awkward long silences. When clerks would arrive for meetings in her office at the Supreme Court, they had long since become accustomed to her habit of speaking in the same deliberate and measured fashion as she that with which she writes her briefs. As one clerk described her demeanor, Ginsburg enjoyed an especially high “tolerance for conversation silence.” As such, it could often create a period of confusion—especially among new clerks—in the process of determining whether the conversation had officially ended or was just suffering from temporarily lull until she had gathered together the salient points she wished to further convey. One of her closest aides, Richard Primus, developed what he termed the “Five Mississippi Rule” especially for these awkward occasions which consisted of counting to five—Mississippi style—before making a move toward exiting the office.

Who is Joel Sheinbaum?

The legend of Ruth Bader Ginsburg slowly grew until the mid-2010’s at which point it exploded into full-scale pop culture iconoclasm. Ginsburg was everywhere; she even popped up as a bobble head doll. Details began emerging from her past that most Americans did not know. Such as the fact that her creative writing instructor at college was none other the author of the perhaps the most-banned American novel of all time: Lolita. In addition to learning how to use words more expressively from Vladimir Nabokov, Ginsburg’s legendary status also stretches to being a character in an actual opera. It is understandable that part of the legend stretches back to a prediction made in print in her 1950 high school yearbook which actually predicted that one day she would sit on the Supreme Court.

Unfortunately, this where the legend suffers a chink in the armor. Yes, it is true that within the pages of the James Madison High School yearbook for the class of 1950 a prediction was made in print that one member of the graduating class would one day sit on the highest judicial bench in the country. Unfortunately, it must be pointed out that this was, indeed, for the class of 1950, the dawn of the one of the most conservative periods in American history. The student of which such great things were expected was, hardly surprising, a young male named Joel Sheinbaum. And for the record, he became a dentist which is just one reason he never made it as far Ginsburg.

What very famous former governor and father of two equally famous sons very nearly beat out Ginsburg for the Supreme Court vacancy she eventually filled?

Ginsburg was nominated to the Supreme Court very early in the Presidency of Bill Clinton. Apparently, Clinton had a very difficult time making the decision on who to pick to fill the seat of retiring justice Byron White. On the shortlist at one time was Stephen Breyer, whose time would come with the next vacancy when Clinton nominated him as his second Presidential appointment to the Court. According to the book, Ginsburg was very much a front-runner almost from the moment White announced his retirement, but came quite close to losing out to a much more famous name.

In fact, number one on Clinton’s list was neither Breyer nor Ginsburg, but former Governor of New York, Mario Cuomo. Mario’s son, Andrew, would eventually become Governor himself while Andrew’s brother Chris would find fame hosting several news shows on CNN. Ginsburg became the beneficiary of Mario Cuomo’s famous Hamlet-esque difficulty in making big career decisions. Long expected to launch a run for the White House, Cuomo ultimately never threw his hat in the ring. Likewise, just minutes before Clinton was to officially offer him the nomination to the Supreme Court, Cuomo pulled himself out of the running. And the rest, as they say, is history.