Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the Library of Congress on February 14, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Shannon Finney / Getty Images)
Shannon Finney
Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg was released from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on Wednesday, a day after she was admitted with a possible infection, a Supreme Court spokesman said in a statement.
“She is home and fine,” said the spokesperson.
The 87-year-old liberal was treated after reporting fever and chills. He underwent a procedure to clean a bile duct stent that was placed in August. On Tuesday, the court said Ginsburg would remain in the hospital “for a few days to receive intravenous antibiotic treatment.”
Ginsburg’s health has raised serious concern that a court vacancy could allow President Donald Trump to nominate a conservative replacement who could tip the ideological balance of the nine-member panel for years to come.
The justice system, which handles what is probably the highest public profile among judges, has overcome multiple episodes of cancer, including several scares in recent years.
The Ginsburg hospitalization comes after the last Supreme Court term ended last week, marking the end of the first full term with those appointed by Trump, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, on the bench. The judges will then hear arguments in October.
As a precaution against the spread of Covid-19, the high court closed its building to the public and in May heard arguments on the phone for the first time in its history. Ginsburg at one point called in a Johns Hopkins discussion after being treated for a benign gallbladder condition.
Several judges have an advanced risk of being affected by the disease due to their age or underlying conditions. Six judges are 65 years of age or older: Ginsburg; Court President John Roberts; and judges Clarence Thomas, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito and Sonia Sotomayor.
.
