Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says if there is one ruling she could overturn from the past 10 years, it would be the 2010 Citizens United decision that expanded corporate personhood.
“I think our system is being polluted by money,” she told students Wednesday at Georgetown University Law Center, The Guardian reported.
Justice Ginsburg said the situation is even worse because it affects state and local judges who run for election in 39 states, The Associated Press reported.
She said, however, that she is optimistic that “sensible restrictions” on campaign financing will one day be in place, quoting her late husband Martin Ginsburg: “The true symbol of the United States is not the eagle, it’s the pendulum — when it swings too far in one direction, it will swing back,” The Guardian reported.
Justice Ginsburg, 81, was one of four justices who dissented against the majority opinion in Citizens United.
William Treanor, dean of Georgetown Law, moderated Wednesday’s conversation, organized for the school’s graduating class, The Guardian reported.
People sitting in the front row wore T-shirts emblazoned with the Notorious RBG meme, which Justice Ginsburg said she didn’t understand until her clerks explained it stemmed from the rapper The Notorious B.I.G., The Guardian reported.
“I no longer have any competition because The Notorious B.I.G. is no longer part of this world,” she said.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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