Ginsburg to lie in repose in front of Supreme Court to allow public viewing

The Supreme Court, in an apparently unprecedented move, announced on Monday that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in repose in front of the court on Wednesday and Thursday to allow public viewing.

In a statement, the court said her casket will arrive in front of the court just before 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday to be followed by a private ceremony in the the Great Hall "attended by Justice Ginsburg’s family, close friends, and members of the Court."

"Following the private ceremony inside, Justice Ginsburg will lie in repose under the Portico at the top of the front steps of the Building to allow for public viewing outdoors," the statement said.

Former law clerks to Justice Ginsburg will serve as honorary pallbearers and will line the front steps as the casket arrives and Supreme Court police officers will serve as pallbearers, the court said.

The Justices will remain inside the Great Hall where the casket will be placed on the Lincoln Catafalque, which has been loaned to the Court by the U.S. Congress for the ceremony. A 2016 portrait of Justice Ginsburg by Constance P. Beaty will be on display in the Great Hall, it said.

"The public is invited to pay respects in front of the Building from approximately 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. on Wednesday, September 23, and from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m. on Thursday, September 24," the statement said.

There has been an outpouring of public support for Ginsburg outside the court since word of her death came Friday night, with an impromptu memorial of flowers and messages written in chalk and on stones left on the court plaza.

Further guidance regarding the public viewing will be available on the homepage of the court’s website, the statement said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also announced that Justice Ginsburg will lie in state in Statuary Hall in the Capitol on Friday.

A formal ceremony will be held Friday morning, her statement said, but noted that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ceremony will be open to invited guests only.

A private interment service will be held next week at Arlington National Cemetery.