David Souter, Nina Totenberg, Old People, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, SCOTUS, Stephen Breyer, Supreme Court

Justice Ginsburg's Dozing During SOTU

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Here’s one talk that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg didn’t fall asleep during: her own, a conversation with Nina Totenberg at the 92nd Street Y on Thursday night.
We took note of the fact that RBG dozed off a bit during President Obama’s State of the Union address. As it turns out, Justice Ginsburg has an explanation.


According to the Panel Nerds over at Mediaite, who covered RBG’s interview with La Totenberg:

Ruth Bader Ginsburg says that the justices have dinner and drinks before the State of the Union address, so she sometimes needs a little help staying awake:
“This year it was my colleague Justice Stephen Breyer…he was not as effective as my colleague Justice David Souter — at the first sign, he’d give me a solid pinch.”

So there’s at least one person in the United States who’s sorry that Justice Souter retired. (That one person isn’t Justice Souter, who couldn’t wait to head back to New Hampshire.)
CORRECTION: As noted in the comments, Justice Souter never attended the State of the Union. So perhaps Justice Ginsburg was referring to other situations where she had a penchant for taking a snooze and Justice Souter helped her out.
FURTHER UPDATE: A member of the Elect tells us: “I’d bet anything that RBG was actually referring to oral argument at the Court. She has a penchant for falling asleep there as well, and DHS sat next to her.”
Read a full account of the Ginsburg-Totenberg conversation over at Mediaite.
Panel Nerds: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Is Human [Mediaite]
Earlier: SCOTUS Retirement Watch? Zzzzzz…

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