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A Statement on Justice Ginsburg's Passing

The Alturas Institute mourns the passing of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg—towering legal giant, champion of gender equality and equal protection for all Americans, a cultural icon and inspiration to millions of women. 

Justice Ginsburg was a friend to The Alturas Institute and would have been the headliner for our 2020 edition of “Conversations with Exceptional Women,” but for the public health menace of Covid-19, which forced the postponement of our event. Justice Ginsburg, without hesitation, agreed to speak at our 2021 event, and we were seeking a suitable date for her participation when she was overtaken by the metastasis of pancreatic cancer that took her life at the age of 87.

In her last hours, Justice Ginsburg dictated to her granddaughter, the lawyer Clara Spera, that, “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”  The principal concern behind her wish, undoubtedly, was to protect the Court’s independence, to save it from being roiled by the politics of a presidential nomination with six weeks left before the November 3 election. 

Justice Ginsburg’s wish has not been honored; indeed, within a few hours of her passing, President Donald Trump and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared their intention to fill her seat “without delay.”  Their announcement has triggered a heated national debate on the propriety, equity and wisdom of such immediate action.

Accordingly, The Alturas Institute’s President, Dr. David Gray Adler, will present a special “Constitutional Conversations” program on Wednesday, September 23, at 6:30 pm MST.  Adler’s talk, "Storm Center: Threats to the Court’s Independence as Trump Fills Justice Ginsburg’s Seat,”  will be followed by a Q & A Session. The program can be accessed on Facebook Live. There is no admission fee, but donations to The Alturas Institute are encouraged and appreciated. The program will be recorded and placed in the Institute’s archives.  It will also be available on YouTube.

The Alturas Institute is a community partner of KISU-FM.

  • Constitutional Conversation. Storm Center: Threats to the Court's Independence as Trump Fills Justice Ginsburg's Seat.
  • September 23, 6:30 pm (MST)
  • Join Dr. David Adler on Facebook Live
  • If you are unable to watch live, this will be on our YouTube Channel.

Logan Ramsey was born and raised in Pocatello, Idaho, and is now a senior studying journalism at Idaho State University. He's currently working as Digital Content Director for KISU and News Editor for The Bengal. His aspirations to be a reporter began his senior year of high school when he began to compete in International Extemporaneous Speaking in the National Speech and Debate Association. Halfway through his freshman year of college, he began to write freelance articles for the Idaho State Journal, and a couple of months later he was hired as a part-time reporter. Not long after, he began work as the Associate Editor of ISU's student newspaper, the Bengal. After a semester, he was promoted to Editor-in-Chief and stayed in that position for two semesters. In order to do more writing, he switched to the News Editor position at the paper. Logan is now working hard to ensure the Bengal has stellar news coverage.