Washington attorneys who argued before the U.S. Supreme Court called Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg tough and a sharp questioner.
But former Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire, who argued three Supreme Court cases when she was the state's attorney general, also recalled a moment when Ginsburg later complimented her work.
“As a lawyer, it doesn’t come any better than that,” Gregoire said Friday after Ginsburg died at age 87. “I will forever remember that moment.”
“Here is the most warm, wonderful individual and you walk away from her just pumped up,” Gregoire said.
“Her legacy that will live on forever is really fundamentally about equality,” she said.
“To have her leave us at this moment in time is just so unfortunate because she stood for all the right things that this nation should be about,” Gregoire said.
Former Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna also argued three cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He said Ginsburg was always a detailed questioner who knew the fine print.
McKenna said one time a lawyer on the opposing side made up an answer to one of Ginsburg’s questions.
“She turned to the exact page and quoted it and contradicted him. Her mastery not only of the law but of the facts in every case was so impressive,” McKenna said Friday.
“I think without question Justice Ginsburg’s legacy is the work she did as a lawyer and as a judge and as a Supreme Court justice to advance women’s rights,” he said.
Washington Solicitor General Noah Purcell also argued a trio of cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Purcell also had some personal recollections of Ginsburg, from when he was a clerk for Justice David Souter in 2008.
He said Ginsburg would invite the clerks to her office for a chat over tea and cake her husband baked.
Purcell said he also remembered how committed she was to her workouts at the court three times a week, though clerks weren’t invited.
“She was so tough,” Purcell said. “I always joked that she was made entirely of muscle and bones.”
Purcell also reflected on the national political realities around Ginsburg's death, in the home stretch of the general election and presidential race.
“I’d like to just be able to reflect on the incredible life and legacy of Justice Ginsburg. Sadly, I don't think the political process will allow that kind of reflection to go on for very long,” Purcell said.