Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Missing Court Arguments for First Time

The Supreme Court Justice hasn't had to miss court for 25 years.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Getty Images

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is missing court arguments for the first time in some 25 years as she recuperates from cancer surgery.

The Supreme Court said that while Ginsburg was not physically able to attend proceedings, she would be working — and voting — from home, the Associated Press reported. It was not made clear when she is expected to return.

Chief Justice John Roberts said in the courtroom Monday that Ginsburg would participate in deciding the argued cases “on the basis of the briefs and transcripts of oral arguments.”

The 85-year-old had two cancerous growths removed from her left lung on Dec. 21 and later discharged from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York on Christmas Day. Ginsburg previously had two cancer surgeries — one in 1999 and the other in 2009 — that did not cause her to miss court. After the 2009 operation she underwent for pancreatic cancer, Ginsburg returned to court just 18 days later.

After her latest surgery, her doctors said they found “no evidence of any remaining disease” and that scans taken before the surgery showed no cancerous growths elsewhere in her body.

Justice Ginsburg seemingly has no plans to retire from the court as she has already hired clerks for the term that extends into 2020.

The InsideHook Newsletter.

News, advice and insights for the most interesting person in the room.