Capitol Will Give RBG a Rare Honor

She will be 2nd justice to lie in state there
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 21, 2020 12:56 PM CDT
Capitol Will Give RBG a Rare Honor
A man touches the door of the Supreme Court Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, in Washington, after the Supreme Court announced that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had died of metastatic pancreatic cancer at age 87.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The body of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in repose at the Supreme Court this week, with arrangements to allow for public viewing despite the coronavirus pandemic, the court said Monday. Ginsburg’s casket will be on public view Wednesday and Thursday under the portico at the top of the court's iconic steps in front of the building, the AP reports. Public viewing is expected to last from 11am EDT to 10pm EDT Wednesday and 9am EDT to 10pm EDT Thursday, the court said. Congress made similar arrangements for a public viewing outside the Capitol after the death of Rep. John Lewis in July. A private ceremony will take place at the court on Wednesday morning for the justices and Ginsburg's family and friends.

Ginsburg's body also will lie in state Friday in Statuary Hall at the Capitol, and a private ceremony will be held there, too, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Chief Justice William Howard Taft, who also was president, is the only other justice to be accorded the honor of lying in state at the Capitol, according to the House website. Taft died in 1930, shortly after work began on the site where the Supreme Court would open in 1935. Ginsburg will be buried next week at Arlington National Cemetery, beside her husband Martin, in a private service, the court said. The justice died Friday at age 87 from pancreatic cancer. She served on the court for 27 years, appointed in 1993 by President Bill Clinton.

(More Ruth Bader Ginsburg stories.)

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