The stately Corinthian columns and broad staircase at the entrance to the 1929 courthouse on Griffing Avenue were a fitting backdrop for a candlelight memorial service in Riverhead last night for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Friday at age 87.
About 40 mourners gathered outside the courthouse for the service, one of many memorials held across the country at 8 p.m. last night. The nationwide memorial at courthouses was called for by a group called It’s On Us, an organization that fights against college sexual assault.
Several of those gathered outside the courthouse spoke out, sharing thoughts about the liberal federal jurist, her influence on American jurisprudence and society, and the path forward for likeminded citizens.
Former Riverhead supervisor Laura Jens-Smith, a Democrat running for State Assembly said it’s up to voters to make sure hard-earned individual rights are retained.
“I remember growing up as a kid, seeing how hard people fought for those rights and to think that may vanish… She held the line on all of that, with sound reasoning and eloquence,” Jens-Smith said.
“Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an icon. She really was a champion for women’s rights,” Jens-Smith said.
“It’s really a loss that strikes you in the heart as well a the head,” said Ethel Sussman of South Jamesport. She said she felt devastated when she heard the news and her first instinct was to retreat into herself. But then she was inspired by the words of the justice herself, which taught “that’s not the way to behave.”
Sussman said Ginsburg’s passing underscored the need to get the people out to vote in November to elect Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
“We need to redouble our efforts, as I’m sure she would want us to,” Sussman said.
Democratic congressional candidate Nancy Goroff, who is seeking to unseat Republican incumbent Lee Zeldin, attended the Riverhead memorial.
“We’re here to honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg and carry on her legacy as best we can,” Goroff said.
“We have to carry on and protect those rights that she fought so hard to protect. We have to do everything we can to make sure people here vote, people in all those swing states vote, people in all those Senate races that matter vote,” Goroff said.
“This election really matters more than any in my lifetime and we’re going to do everything we can to keep this country a democracy and protect the rights that are so important to all of us,” she said.
Maxine Kleedorfer of Baiting Hollow said women especially have much at stake in the composition of the U.S. Supreme Court.
“This is for our lives — especially women,” she said. “Do you know how many rights we’re going to lose? Does anybody realize that?” she asked. “I remember before we got these rights. You don’t want to lose them,” Kleedorfer said.
The conservative shift on the high court will continue if President Donald Trump has the opportunity to appoint a third justice. Democrats and activists, including some of those assembled in downtown Riverhead last night, are calling on the Senate Republican majority to leave Ginsburg’s seat vacant until after the next president is inaugurated. They point to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s refusal to consider the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland by President Barack Obama to fill a Supreme Court vacancy after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia on Feb. 12, 2016. Republican senators lined up in support of McConnell, who said the next president, who would be elected nearly nine months later, should pick the nominee to fill Scalia’s seat.
McConnell issued a statement Friday night stating the Senate would proceed with the confirmation process for any nominee put forward by the President. He said he intends to bring the President’s nominee to a vote on the Senate floor.
Trump said yesterday he intends to announce a nominee next week.
Angela DeVito of South Jamesport said Ginsburg “passed us the baton. It’s up to us to finish the race. That is the greatest honor we can give her.”
Riverhead Councilwoman Catherine Kent said the turnout for the memorial inspired her.
“Justice Ginsburg fought for us till the bitter end and we will carry on,” she said, “We will carry on. We have to be stronger now than ever before. We’re going to have great obstacles that are going to come up before us and we have to be relentless.”
The survival of local journalism depends on your support.
We are a small family-owned operation. You rely on us to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. Just a few dollars can help us continue to bring this important service to our community.
Support RiverheadLOCAL today.