September 23, 2020

Contact: Jared Chausow, jchausow@bds.org

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***

BROOKLYN DEFENDER SERVICES’ STATEMENT ON THE PASSING OF SUPREME COURT JUSTICE RUTH BADER GINSBURG

(Brooklyn, NY) -- Today, Lisa Schreibersdorf, Executive Director of Brooklyn Defender Services, released the following statement in response to the passing of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg:

“Today we mourn the loss of a trailblazer and pioneer. In true Brooklyn form, Ruth Bader Ginsburg did not take ‘no’ for an answer and broke barriers her entire life. As a Supreme Court Justice, an effective advocate, a feminist, wife, and mother, and a powerful voice against the status quo, Justice Ginsburg opened doors for countless others. She is breaking a boundary one last time as the first woman in the history of our country to lie in state in the United States Capitol. As she does, our country grieves a brilliant and fair jurist and a role model for women, civil rights lawyers, and all people who believe that a fair and equitable society is possible and worth fighting for. The model of advocacy that she pursued, asking the courts to think differently, to push boundaries and preconceived ideas about the structure of society followed by her willingness to see the world as it could be in her position on the Supreme Court—those are the qualities, values, and attitudes that embody the essence of public defenders. We can all learn from her tenacity, her vision, her insistence that justice can be obtained through the courts, from her very hope and faith that things can be more fair, more just, more equitable. The best way to honor her legacy is for each of us to imagine a better world and pursue it with all we have and to stand by our own convictions, values, and beliefs no matter what.”

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Brooklyn Defender Services (BDS) provides multi-disciplinary and client-centered criminal, family, and immigration defense, as well as civil legal services, social work support and advocacy for tens of thousands of people in Brooklyn every year.