美国联邦最高法院大法官露丝·巴德·金斯伯格去世，终年87岁。当地时间18日，美国联邦最高法院发表声明称，因转移性胰腺癌引发的并发症，金斯伯格“于今晚在她位于华盛顿特区的家中去世，家人陪伴在她身边”。U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at 87 years old due to cancer complications, said the Supreme Court in a statement on Friday. Ginsburg, affectionately known as the RBG, passed away "this evening surrounded by her family at her home in Washington D.C.," the statement said.美国联邦最高法院降半旗致哀，大批美国民众自发来到法院前的台阶上悼念↓The U.S. national flag flies at half -mast as people gather outside of Supreme Court in Washington DC on Friday night to mourn the passing of Ginsburg.美国联邦最高法院首席大法官约翰·罗伯茨表示，美国“失去了一位具有历史意义的大法官”。美国前国务卿希拉里·克林顿发文称：“金斯伯格大法官为包括我在内的许多女性铺平了道路。再也不会有像她一样的人了。谢谢金斯伯格。”就连和金斯伯格有“过节”的特朗普也称她“是一个了不起的女人”，“有着了不起的一生”。
金斯伯格1933年出生于纽约布鲁克林，先后就读于康奈尔大学、哈佛大学和哥伦比亚大学，并以第一名的优异成绩毕业。她于1993年由时任美国总统克林顿提名出任联邦最高法院法官。她生前是美国最高法院9位大法官中年纪最长的一位，也是美国联邦最高法院历史上第二位女性大法官。任职以来，金斯伯格一直致力于推进性别平等，支持包括女性堕胎权，同工同酬等权益。她曾说：“随着女性在各个领域获得应有的地位，我们的社区、国家和世界将会变得越来越好。”近年来，金斯伯格的健康状况一直受到密切关注。年过八旬的她与癌症搏斗了20多年，但一直在承担大法官的相关工作。1999年，她患上结肠癌；2009年，她又被查出患胰腺癌。2018年，她在办公室摔倒，三根肋骨骨折，住院过程中发现患有肺癌，最终左肺两个恶性结节被切除；2019年，她再次患上胰腺癌；2020年，她癌症复发，但表示无意退休。按照美国相关规定，最高法院大法官是终身制，将一直履职直到去世或自愿退休。U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at 87 years old due to cancer complications, said the Supreme Court in a statement on Friday. Ginsburg, affectionately known as the RBG, passed away "this evening surrounded by her family at her home in Washington D.C.," the statement said. The second female justice on the U.S. highest court, Ginsburg was a legal pioneer advocating for gender equality.She was the court's oldest justice, and had a series of health scares in recent years. Appointed by President Bill Clinton and joined the court in 1993, she was treated four times for cancer. In addition to the tumor on her pancreas last year, she was previously treated for colorectal cancer in 1999 and pancreatic cancer in 2009.
美国舆论认为，在距美国总统大选投票日已不足50天之际，金斯伯格的突然离世在美国民主、共和两党间拉开了一场激烈的提名战序幕。参议院多数党领袖麦康奈尔表态称“参议院将就由特朗普提名的大法官人选投票。” 另一边的美国民主党总统候选人拜登“坐不住了”，他认为应该由新任总统挑选出一位大法官供参议院审议。美国联邦最高法院由5名保守派大法官和包括金斯伯格在内的4名自由派大法官组成。金斯伯格的离去让目前最高法院自由派大法官仅剩3人。美媒分析认为，鉴于共和党在参议院掌握多数以及特朗普的用人倾向，金斯伯格的离世或将导致最高法院迎来第6名由共和党任命的保守派大法官，从而使最高法院向保守派倾斜。这位人选同时将会是现任总统特朗普任命的第3名大法官。此前特朗普已任命了两名保守派大法官。由于美国最高法院对美国宪法拥有解释权，一旦总统大选出现争议，9名大法官很可能成为美国大选结果的“定音之锤”。依照美国宪法，最高法院大法官由总统提名，经国会参议院表决通过后才能任命。从提名到参议院表决，中间需要数周甚至数月的时间。Ginsburg's death kicked off a monumental battle in Congress as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell invited President Donald Trump to promptly nominate a replacement, ignoring pleas by Democrats to await the results of the November 3 presidential election."President Trump's nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate," McConnell proclaimed on Friday night, without providing a time frame for action by the Senate.Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said on Friday that "there is no doubt" that the next U.S. Supreme Court justice should be chosen by the winner of the election.The long-term direction of the nation's highest court is at stake. The closely divided court currently had five justices with conservative bents and four liberals.If Trump were to choose a conservative judge to replace the liberal Ginsburg, as expected, the court's conservatives would have more heft with a 6-3 majority. It can take several weeks to months between the president's nomination of a Supreme Court justice and a Senate confirmation vote as the nominee must go through a thorough vetting process by the Senate and often makes visits with individual senators to build support for the nomination. Then, lengthy confirmation hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee normally follow culminating with a recommendation on whether the nominee should be confirmed and placed onto the court.
就在去世前几天，金斯伯格向孙女说了这样一句话：“我最热切的愿望是，在新总统就任前，我不会被人取代。” 她的愿望最终没能实现。最高法院大法官人选将为美国政坛带来怎样的影响？我们将持续关注。评论漫画丨美国大选—中美关系的脱钩器？
CGTN评论漫画丨大选在即欲力挽颓势，美极力鼓吹“中国威胁”