汤头条

Totenberg Discusses Supreme Court, Ginsburg Friendship

February 15, 2023   |   Lou Cortina

When Nina Totenberg sat down to talk about her career as a journalist covering the U.S. Supreme Court, it didn鈥檛 take long for the discussion to shift to the current divisive state of the nation鈥檚 highest court.

The question: Can the Supreme Court, which has seen its favorability decline in public opinion polls since the 2022 ruling that overturned the Roe v. Wade abortion decision, reverse its negative public perception?

Bruce Jarrell and Renee Hutchins listen as Nina Totenberg addresses the audience.

Totenberg, a longtime legal affairs correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR), doesn鈥檛 see it happening anytime soon.

鈥淭his is probably the most conservative court in a century, dating back to the early 1930s,鈥� Totenberg told a hybrid audience of nearly 400 at the 汤头条, Baltimore (UMB) President鈥檚 Panel on Politics and Policy on Feb. 14. 鈥淎 lot of things that this court would like to undo, partially or wholly, are things that most Americans don鈥檛 agree with 鈥� and I鈥檓 not speaking about abortion or religion issues.

鈥淭hese are issues like regulations that protect our air and our water. And, over time, we鈥檙e seeing that the court is very much in step with a conservative agenda that is promoted by a part of the legal community that used to be considered fringe, and that is problematic.鈥�

The problem, Totenberg added, is that the bloc of conservative justices holds a 6-3 advantage, with three confirmed during former President Donald Trump鈥檚 four-year term, and there is little appetite 鈥� or need 鈥� for compromise with five votes needed for a majority opinion.

鈥淚 have covered the Supreme Court for almost 50 years, and every court during that time has had a center,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut at least right now, this court doesn鈥檛 really have a center. It has six very conservative votes, with a chief justice [John Roberts] who鈥檚 an institutionalist, and three sort of mainstream liberal justices.

鈥淪tephen Breyer is gone from the court, too, and although he was on the liberal side, he was a justice who would often work with the chief justice to get some sort of compromise. I don鈥檛 think this court is so inclined to make compromises, and it鈥檚 the conservatives more than anybody else who are not so inclined, because they have the votes.鈥�

Ren茅e McDonald Hutchins, JD, dean of the 汤头条 Francis King Carey School of Law, moderated the discussion after an introduction by UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, who pointed out that when Totenberg started her journalism career more than 50 years ago, 鈥渨omen reporters were scarce, but that didn鈥檛 deter her鈥� from making her mark by breaking important news stories such as the 1991 report on law professor Anita Hill鈥檚 sexual harassment allegations against Justice Clarence Thomas during his confirmation hearing.

Totenberg鈥檚 visit marked the 15th edition of the President鈥檚 Panel on Politics and Policy, a speaker series that began in January 2017 and is designed to examine issues important to the UMB community such as health and higher education policy, federal budget priorities, and issues of civil rights and social justice.

Before fielding questions from attendees at the SMC Campus Center, Totenberg also discussed issues before the court including two cases that could roll back affirmative action, the power of her friendships with NPR colleagues such as the late Cokie Roberts, and her longtime connection with late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which is the subject of her 2022 book, 鈥淒inners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships.鈥�

Totenberg recalled first talking with Ginsburg in 1971 to discuss the landmark case in which the Supreme Court ruled for the first time that the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment prohibited differential treatment based on sex. Ginsburg, a Rutgers University law professor at the time, was the principal author of the plaintiff鈥檚 brief in the case.

A friendship soon formed that lasted until Ginsburg鈥檚 death in 2020. Hutchins noted that in reading Totenberg鈥檚 book, 鈥淚 got the sense that you and Justice Ginsburg had the courage to step into spaces where you didn鈥檛 know that you would be welcomed. What gave you that courage?鈥�

鈥淚 was a fearless young reporter on the outside, but on the inside, I was terrified,鈥� Totenberg said. 鈥淚 never actually asked Ruth about how she felt on the inside. But we both understood that we were outsiders looking in. It was like we had our noses pressed up against a window, saying, 鈥楬ey, guys, we can do that job, too. In fact, we might be able to do it better. Let us in.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檓 quite sure Ruth wasn鈥檛 thinking about being a Supreme Court justice when she was 30-odd years old,鈥� Totenberg added. 鈥淎nd I certainly didn鈥檛 think I would be writing a book and having the kind of prominence that I have today. I was just trying to get a foot in the door, I wasn鈥檛 breaking a glass ceiling. I just was very determined.鈥�

Totenberg concluded the event by reading an excerpt from the epilogue of her book that referenced Cokie Roberts and four late Supreme Court justices: Ginsburg, Lewis Powell, William Brennan, and Antonin Scalia:

I have been so fortunate to have them all, and many more, as friends. For the ones who are gone, I often wonder what they would have to say about the current state of the world. Yet, I am struck by the fact that no matter their origins or paths in life, all of them shared a common trait: optimism. Today鈥檚 events, at home and abroad, would surely test that optimism, but while I think each of them would be realistic about the challenges we face, they would all be determined to persevere. As Ruth often said, 鈥�My story is hopeful.鈥�

So, I will be, too. I am not hanging up my spurs anytime soon. As my mother used to tell me, 鈥�I鈥檒l see you on the radio.鈥�