justice ruth bader ginsburg Archives

Rest peacefully Justice Gainsburg.

(CNN reports Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday due to complications of metastatic pancreas cancer, the court announced. She was 87.

Ginsburg was appointed in 1993 by President Bill Clinton and in recent years served as the most senior member of the court’s liberal wing consistently delivering progressive votes on the most divisive social issues of the day, including abortion rights, same-sex marriage, voting rights, immigration, health care and affirmative action.

Along the way, she developed a rock star type status and was dubbed the “Notorious R.B.G.” In speaking events across the country before liberal audiences, she was greeted with standing ovations as she spoke about her view of the law, her famed exercise routine and her often fiery dissents.

“Our Nation has lost a jurist of historic stature,” said Chief Justice John Roberts. “We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her — a tireless and resolute champion of justice.”

Obama on Justice Ruth Ginsburg – “The toughest justice on the Supreme Court”

(Photo by Mandel Ngan-Pool/Getty Images)

She is 82 years old, and considered one of the wisest and most vocal of all the justices on the Supreme Court. And President Obama honored Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a speech he gave at the White House.

Speaking at the White House Conference on Aging, Obama mentioned a number of Americans who show that senior citizens are able to live healthier, more productive lives than ever before.

“Arguably the toughest justice on the Supreme Court is the oldest, Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” he said. “Also known as the Notorious RBG. She’s tough.”

Ginsburg’s fans gave her the nickname, a play on the late rapper Notorious B.I.G. It’s caught fire, appearing on a Tumblr site, t-shirts and even tattoos.

Obama’s praise for Ginsburg, 82, comes weeks after after the high court handed him a pair of victories.

A leader of the court’s liberal wing, Ginsburg sided with the majority to uphold a key provision of the president’s healthcare law and legalize same-sex marriage nationwide.

“Americans who once might have been dismissed as out of touch or past their primes are making vital contributions in every field.”

The president said the contributions of older Americans like Ginsburg sparks all Americans “to raise our ambitions about what we hope to achieve in our golden years.”