On the Basis of Sex (2018)

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On the Basis of Sex (2018)

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(PERCUSSION PLAYING INTRO TO

"TEN THOUSAND MEN OF HARVARD")

(PERCUSSION CONTINUES)

(PERCUSSION CONTINUES)

(MARCHING BAND

JOINS PERCUSSION)

MALE CHOIR:

Illegitimum non carborundum

Domine salvum fac

(MEN SHOUT)

Illegitimum non carborundum

Domine salvum fac

(MEN SHOUT)

Gaudeamus igitur

Veritas non sequitur?

Illegitimum non carborundum

Ipso facto

Ten thousand men of Harvard

Want victory today

For they know

that o'er old Eli

Fair Harvard holds sway

So then we'll conquer

old Eli's men

And when the game ends

We'll sing again

Ten thousand men of Harvard

Gained victory today

(A CAPPELLA):

Ten thousand men of Harvard

Want victory

Today.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

Anyone here?

My name is Erwin Griswold.

I am the dean of this place.

Welcome to Harvard Law School.

Take a moment

to look around you.

In this room,

there are Rhodes

and Fulbright Scholars,

Phi Beta Kappa members,

student body presidents,

and a Harvard

football team captain.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER, LAUGHING)

- Together...

- (CHATTER STOPS)

you will become lawyers.

This is a privilege you share.

It is also a responsibility

you accept.

Consider...

what does it mean

to be a Harvard man?

A Harvard man is

intelligent, of course,

but he is also tenacious.

He is a leader devoted

to the rule of law.

He is mindful of his country,

loyal to tradition,

and he is respectful

and protective

of our institutions.

- (BABY CRYING)

- MARTIN: "The net operating loss deductions

"by the year shall be computed

as of Subsection A

of this section,

applied to such tax review..."

Which one makes me look

more like a Harvard man?

(BABY CONTINUES CRYING)

I'm thrilled to report

that you look nothing

like a Harvard man.

Seriously?

It's the dean's dinner, Marty.

You know how I am

at these things.

I-I need to make

a good impression.

And you will, Kiki,

but you've got it wrong.

It's not the dress. It's you.

You haven't touched

your tuna casserole.

Come here, sweetie. Come.

- (BABY QUIETS)

- There we go.

I put onions in.

They help, right?

Definitely.

I don't like either of these.

(BABY RESUMES CRYING)

Okay, where were we?

-

- (INDISTINCT CHATTER)

Thank you.

(CHATTER MUTED)

HARRIET: Ladies and gentlemen,

please join us

in the dining room

as dinner is served.

And, professors,

please escort the ladies in.

- (WOMAN LAUGHS)

- MAN: After you. Please.

May I?

(INDISTINCT CHATTER, LAUGHTER)

WOMAN (LAUGHING):

He remembers everything.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER CONTINUES)

MAN:

He said, "Professor,

have you corrected our papers?"

And I said, "Correcting them

will take a lifetime.

I'm merely grading them."

- (WOMAN LAUGHS)

- (CLINKING)

MAN 2:

Oh, wait a minute.

Esteemed colleagues, ladies.

This is only the sixth year

women have had the privilege

to earn a Harvard law degree.

This little soiree

is our way of saying welcome.

My wife Harriet and I

are very glad

all nine of you have joined us.

Let us go around the table,

and each of you ladies report

who you are, where you're from,

and why you're occupying

a place at Harvard

that could have gone to a man.

(MAN CLEARS THROAT SOFTLY)

Yeah.

HARRIET:

Well...

why don't you

get us started, dear?

I'm Hennie Callaghan.

Father's a lawyer

back in Minneapolis.

He used to give me

drafts of contracts

to use for drawing paper.

But at some point,

I got more interested

in reading them

- than drawing on them.

- (LAUGHTER)

In a few years, it's gonna be

Callaghan and Callaghan.

That was fine.

Next.

(CLEARS THROAT SOFTLY)

Emily Hicks.

Hello. Connecticut.

When I finished Mount Holyoke,

my mother wanted me

to get married.

But I didn't want to do that,

and I didn't want

to be a teacher

- or a nurse, so when I...

- GRISWOLD: Ah.

That's not a very good reason.

Next.

- Oh.

- Watch it.

Sorry.

(OBJECTS CLACKING)

(CLEARS THROAT SOFTLY)

(NERVOUS CHUCKLE)

Uh, I'm...

Ruth Ginsburg from Brooklyn.

And why are you here,

Miss Ginsburg?

Uh, M-Mrs. Ginsburg, actually.

My husband Marty is

in the second-year class.

I'm at Harvard

to learn more about his work,

so I can be a more patient

and understanding wife.

(SNICKERING)

Come to dinner.

The beans will be boiled,

the chicken will be stewed,

and you will be grilled.

We came to Harvard

to be lawyers. Why else?

It's truly an asinine question.

He's never gonna take me

seriously.

No, that's not true.

You're the smartest

person here,

and you're gonna be

the most prepared.

So just stand up

and say what you know.

At a place like this,

that's all that matters.

In my experience,

even small mistakes

are glaring when you stick out.

Well, then you're very lucky.

Because you...

are very... short.

(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)

Oh, yeah?

Yeah.

Well...

why don't you come down here

and say that to my face.

- Mrs. Ginsburg.

- (CHUCKLES)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

(DOOR CLOSES)

I am Professor Brown.

This is

Introduction to Contracts.

Hawkins versus McGee.

State the case, please...

Mr. Pruitt.

Uh, good morning.

I'm Donald Pruitt.

I'm really honored

to be here...

Hawkins v. McGee.

Uh, yeah, Hawkins versus McGee,

it-it's a fascinating,

uh, breach of contract case

where, um...

oh, uh, Charles Hawkins hurt

his hand, and McGee had...

Can someone help him, please?

Mr. Fitzpatrick.

It was Charles's son

who hurt his hand.

- Electrocution burn.

- And at what point

does the case turn,

Mr. Fitzpatrick?

McGee promised to fix the hand

by performing a skin graft,

but McGee wasn't very familiar

with the procedure,

and the results

weren't quite what he planned.

Question already, Mrs....

- Ginsburg.

- Correction, Professor Brown.

McGee did not simply promise

to fix George Hawkins' hand.

He promised, quote,

"a 100% good hand."

- That's the same thing.

- BROWN: Is it?

What say you, Mrs. Ginsburg?

It is not.

Words matter.

McGee grafted skin

from Hawkins' chest.

Not only did this fail

to fix the scarring,

he had chest hair growing

on his palm.

Proving that a hand with a burn

is worth two with a bush.

(LAUGHTER)

The court denied

Hawkins' damages.

Hawkins did get damages...

the court said

- he could have...

- If I may finish.

Hawkins was denied damages

for pain and suffering.

The New Hampshire Supreme Court

ruled he was entitled

to damages

only based on the contract

being fulfilled.

So if Dr. McGee had set

realistic expectations

instead of making

grand promises,

Hawkins' award likely

would have been less.

Was that an answer,

Mrs. Ginsburg, or a filibuster?

-

- (LAUGHTER)

(LAUGHING)

Mm.

- Mm.

- Slippin' and a-slidin', peepin' and a-hidin'...

- Movie.

- Movie.

- Four words.

- Four words.

- Second word.

- Second word.

- Seven?

- Seven.

- Uh-oh.

- Fourth word. - Fourth word.

- (LAUGHTER) - Oh! Monkey!

- Oh! Gorilla! Monkey business.

- Uh, ape!

- Monkey. Monkey.

Ape. Uh...

- Ooh.

- Monkey on my back.

(WOLF WHISTLE)

Second word, seven. Seven...

Seven... Seven Brides

for Seven Brothers?

What does that have to do

with monkeys?

- And... - Seven...

- Oh, oh, The Seven Year Itch!

- Time!

- RUTH: Yes!

(WOMEN LAUGHING, WHOOPING;

MEN GROANING)

Ruthless Ruthy strikes again.

Okay, next round's

riding on you.

- Don't worry, he's very good.

- All right.

Thank God, because she actually

broke up with someone

for being bad at charades.

- You didn't, really?

- Well, it was a manifestation

of his being an idiot.

- See?

- Don't worry, I'm comfortable

- being smarter than you.

- Oh, thank you.

- WOMAN: All right, everybody ready?

- WOMAN 2: Oh.

- Uh, song. - A song.

- Um...

(LAUGHTER)

- MAN: Uh, Buddy Holly? Uh...

- MAN 2: Uh, Bill Haley?

By Elvis.

Uh, three words.

- First word.

- Uh, first word.

Uh...

- Uh, table. Um...

- A glass?

- Um...

- A book!

- Um, uh...

- Reading!

Uh, blue!

- Ah! "Blueberry Hill"?

- No, that's Fats Domino.

Uh, third word,

third word. Floor.

- Carpet.

- Dancing?

- WOMAN: Nice moves.

- Oh. Ow. Ow. Hold on.

- Oh, no sound effects.

- Oh. Oh, "Bl-Blue Suede Shoes."

- Come on, Marty, you're a lightweight.

- RUTH: Marty?

- (GROANS)

- Marty.

- Help! Help! - Is he all right?

- Someone get some help!

(VOICES MUTED)

The doctor's ready

to see you now.

Excuse me.

Just a moment, please.

- Excuse me, I just need...

- Just a moment.

I need to make a call.

Yes. Uh, can we have

the results today?

RUTH:

E-Excuse me.

Doctor, um,

you examined my husband.

I'm wondering when you think

he'll be able to leave.

I need to call the sitter. I...

What's the patient's name?

- Martin Ginsburg.

- Right.

Ginsburg.

(HISSING INHALE)

Yeah, he's not

going home today.

- Excuse me?

- We have more tests to run.

Wha... What kind of tests?

- Various kinds. He's gonna be with us a while.

- What tests?

- I need to see him.

- Just go home, get some rest.

We'll know more in a few days.

Now, if you'll excuse me.

EMILY:

How is he?

Fine.

Call anytime, okay?

(SOFTLY):

Bye.

(DOOR OPENS)

(DOOR CLOSES)

(TRAFFIC RUMBLING,

HORN HONKS IN DISTANCE)

(EXHALES)

- Hi.

- Hi.

(LAUGHS SOFTLY)

At least you got a break

from my cooking.

(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)

Afternoon.

- Hey, Doc.

- Dr. Leadbetter.

(SIGHS)

It's as we feared.

Marty, you're young,

and we caught it early.

We've pioneered

a new treatment here.

It entails numerous surgeries,

each followed

by a course of radiation.

There's a chance you can go on

to a healthy, happy life,

as if none of this

had happened.

Wha... What kind of a chance?

Dr. Leadbetter, we'd rather

know what we're facing.

The survival rate

for testicular cancer

has been about five percent.

(WRY CHUCKLE)

Thanks for the honesty.

I think.

I'll let you two talk.

(BED CREAKS)

(BREATH TREMBLING)

- (SNIFFLES)

- We're never giving up.

You keep working.

Keep studying.

Jane will have her father.

You will be a lawyer.

I am spending my life with you,

Martin Ginsburg.

FREUND:

Judicial consistency.

The doctrine of stare decisis

comes from English common law,

which also provides

the first examples

of circumstances

where precedents

- may be overturned.

- (WHISPERS): Excuse me.

- Judges are bound...

- Thank you.

Excuse me.

May I help you?

Um, I'm, uh,

Martin Ginsburg's wife.

I'll be a...

attending his classes for him.

In addition to your own?

Yes...

Professor Freund.

(STUDENTS MURMURING)

Judges are bound by precedence,

but they cannot ignore

cultural change.

A court ought not be affected

by the weather of the day,

but will be

by the climate of the era.

MARTIN:

Wait, wait, wait.

Say that last part again.

"A court ought not be affected

by the weather of the day,

but will be

by the climate of the era."

And you're sure he said that?

Of course.

Of course.

The law is never finished.

It is a work in progress...

and ever will be.

Brown v. the Board

of Education...

parentheses, 1954,

was the most revolutionary...

Supreme Court case...

in the last century.

(JANE CRYING IN DISTANCE)

Representing Oliver Brown,

- et al....

- (CRYING CONTINUES)

Thurgood Marshall...

- I'm not listening.

- ...educated the court...

(CRYING CONTINUES)

(STOPS CRYING)

Come on, Jane.

That's it.

Come on, sweetie.

(JANE FUSSES)

(JANE SIGHING)

Okay.

RUTH and MARTY:

One, two, three,

- whoo!

- (LAUGHS)

RUTH and MARTY:

One, two, three,

- whoo!

- (LAUGHS)

Should we give Daddy a rest?

One day, this little angel's

gonna slam the door in our face

- and tell us we're ruining her life.

- (LAUGHS)

I should have never

taken the job.

It's a great firm,

and New York is the center

of the legal universe.

You earned it.

You earned it.

- I barely survived it.

- (CHUCKLES)

I just don't want to be away

from you and Jane.

You won't be.

I won't allow it.

I'll convince him.

Say, "Good luck, Mommy."

- Good luck, Mommy.

- (WHISPERS): See you later.

GRISWOLD:

You want a Harvard law degree,

though you plan to finish

your coursework at Columbia?

You would do well,

Mrs. Ginsburg,

to remember how fortunate

you are to be here.

Dean Griswold, between

the first and third year

of law school,

which is the more substantive,

the more critical?

- The first, of course.

- Yet when someone

transfers in

as a second-year student,

having taken those more

important classes elsewhere,

he's allowed a degree.

- That's irrelevant.

- I've been here two years.

I'm first in my class.

There is no reason your husband

cannot provide for you

while you and the child

remain in Cambridge.

Last year,

John Sumner was allowed

to finish his coursework

at Baltimore.

- Three years ago, Roy Paxton...

- Very different cases.

- How are they different?

- Mrs. Ginsburg,

you have no compelling need

to transfer.

Marty could relapse.

He b*at the odds,

but the doctors say

it could happen at any time.

Dean Griswold...

this is my family.

Nonetheless...

we each have

our responsibilities,

and mine is to protect

the distinction

of a Harvard law degree.

I can't force you to stay.

But I won't reward you

for leaving, either.

(HORNS HONKING)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER,

WHISTLE BLOWING)

Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

Graduating top of your class.

Law Review at Harvard...

and Columbia.

I didn't even know

that was possible.

Thank you, Mr. Greene.

I've worked hard.

Well, you want

some white-shoe firm.

Big money cases,

complex legal maneuvers...

No, I think Bibler and Greene

is the perfect fit.

- You handled the Mercer bankruptcy last year.

- Come on.

How many have you been to?

They all turned you down,

right? How many?

Maybe ten?

Twelve.

A woman, a mother,

and a Jew to boot.

I'm surprised that many

let you through the door.

One sent me to interview

for the secretarial pool.

- (CHUCKLES)

- Another told me I'd be

too busy at bake sales

to be effective.

One partner closes his clients

in the locker room at his club,

so he said

I'd be out of the loop.

Last week, I was told women are

too emotional to be lawyers.

Then that same afternoon,

that a... a woman graduating

top of her class

must be a real ballbuster

and wouldn't make

a good colleague.

I was asked when

I'd have my next baby.

And whether I keep Shabbat.

One interviewer told me

I had a sterling rsum,

but they hired a woman

last year,

and what in the world

would they want with two of us?

You must be livid.

Well, my mother told me

not to give way to emotions.

Bullshit.

You're angry. Good.

Use it.

I have to say, Mrs. Ginsburg,

I'm very impressed.

Mr. Greene...

I want to be a lawyer.

I want to represent clients

before the court

in pursuit of justice.

You can see I-I worked hard

through school, I...

I did everything I was

supposed to, and I excelled.

I swear it,

I'll do the same for you.

The fact is that,

you know, we're a-a...

close-knit firm,

almost like family,

and, uh...

...the wives...

they get jealous.

(PASSING HORN HONKING)

(SIREN WAILING IN DISTANCE)

RUTH:

The prince would marry her

whose foot would fit

the little slipper.

Kiki?

- Hey! Kik!

- First, he tried it on the...

- Where is everybody?

- ...princess.

Oh, hi.

Hello, sweet pea.

Come here.

How was your day? Hmm?

I missed you.

- (OPERATIC ARIA PLAYING)

- Did you have a nice day?

Did you get the job?

You got the job.

That's wonderful.

Oh! So they're gonna give you

a corner office,

or are you still gonna have

to jump through some hoops?

It's not at Bibler and Greene.

I wasn't what they

were looking for.

That's okay.

I told you one of those

other firms would come back.

Which one was it?

Clyde Ferguson left

his professorship at Rutgers.

- Kiki...

- They haven't found

another black man

to replace him,

so someone thought a woman

would be the next best thing.

(ARIA CONTINUES)

- Good news.

- You can't quit.

There are more firms out there.

This is the biggest city

in the most litigious country

in the history of the planet.

- You can still...

- Marty, I got a job.

Just open the champagne.

Okay.

Okay. Then let's celebrate.

Marriage of Figaro.

(MUSIC STOPS)

You know what I think?

I think this is good.

I think it's better.

- (OVERTURE PLAYING)

- You won't be beholden to any firm,

you won't have a partner

breathing down your neck,

and also, a professor

is free to represent

any client she chooses.

As long as they

don't mind a lawyer

- who's never actually practiced law.

- Well...

all I have to say is,

hooray for Mommy.

RUTH and MARTIN:

Cheers.

Hooray for Mommy.

Hooray for Mommy.

("TIME HAS COME TODAY"

BY THE CHAMBERS BROTHERS PLAYS)

CROWD (CHANTING):

Hell no, we won't go!

Hell no, we won't go!

Hell no, we won't go...

- Time has come today

- (CHANT CONTINUES)

(WOMAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY

OVER P.A.)

Young hearts

can go that way

(WOMAN CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY)

- No!

- Can't put it off another day...

- (INDISTINCT SHOUTING)

- MAN: Vietnam!

WOMAN:

And now they're telling us

there's gonna be

no prosecution!

- No! - No!

- Are we gonna stand for that?

No!

Are we gonna die in Vietnam?

- No!

- No!

Hell no, we won't go!

Hell no, we won't go!

Hell no, we won't go!

- Hell no, we won't go! Hell no!

- Time has come today

- Time!

- Time has come today

Time!

Time!

I am Professor Ginsburg.

This is Sex Discrimination

and the Law.

Some of my colleagues

will tell you

that sex discrimination

doesn't exist,

that I may as well be teaching

the legal rights

of gnomes and fairies.

- (LIGHT LAUGHTER)

- We'll see if they're right.

Hoyt versus Florida.

State the facts,

please, Miss...

Valentin.

Gwendolyn Hoyt was a housewife,

and her husband was

this assh*le.

- (LAUGHTER)

- Can you recall the specifics?

He cheated on her.

He choked her.

He'd rip off her clothes

and thr*aten to k*ll her.

So in statutory terms,

he was a "real assh*le."

(LAUGHTER)

On the night in question,

Clarence told his wife

that he'd met another woman

and he was leaving her.

How did Hoyt respond,

Miss... Burton?

She smashed in his skull

with a baseball bat,

then called an ambulance

while he was dying.

A jury convicted Hoyt

of second-degree m*rder.

And that's where

our story begins.

A great civil rights lawyer

took up Hoyt's appeal.

Dorothy...

Kenyon.

On what grounds,

Miss... Roemer?

The Florida's juries violated

the U.S. Constitution,

'cause there were

only men on them.

Kenyon said that

if there were women on it,

Hoyt may have been convicted

of a lesser crime,

- like manslaughter.

- That law makes sense, though.

Uh, women can't take care

of their kids

if they're

on some sequestered jury.

- Oh, is that so?

- What? - Excuse me?

What?

Men are the mammoth hunters.

- (GROANING)

- You're never getting laid again.

- What about women who don't have children?

- Yeah.

- Or they're out of the house?

- Let the man stay home

- and take care of his children.

- (OTHERS MURMURING)

BENNETT:

Hey, don't take it out on me.

I'm not holding

my fiance back.

- She's got two jobs.

- Which...

she can be fired from

just for marrying you.

The law allows it.

There are laws that say

women can't work overtime.

And that a... a woman's

social security benefits,

unlike her husband's,

don't provide for her family

after death.

- What? That's bullshit!

- Excuse me? - Crazy.

Ten years ago, Dorothy Kenyon

asked a question:

If the law differentiates

on the basis of sex,

then how will women and men

ever become equals?

And the Supreme Court answered:

They won't.

Hoyt lost her appeal.

The decision was unanimous.

Discrimination

on the basis of sex is legal.

(CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING)

(MARTIN HUMMING WITH MUSIC)

Here, stir that in.

Mmm, Daddy,

that's not how you do it.

- Oh, really?

- If you put the herbs in too early,

they lose all their punch.

Well, they're not supposed

to pummel each other, Jane.

They're supposed to complement

each other, and that is why

- it's called "marrying the flavors."

- JAMES: We're home!

- Hi!

- Daddy!

Buddy!

- How was your day?

- Good.

- Did you have a good day at school?

- Uh-huh.

What'd you learn?

Anything exciting?

- Not really.

- No? - Hi.

- Hi.

- Hi.

- Jane.

- Hey, Mom.

MARTIN:

How's this year's class?

Oh, these kids

are so passionate.

To them, it's about more

than precedents and dissents.

- They want to forge a movement.

- That's great.

RUTH:

Mmm. This is delicious.

MARTIN:

Don't act so surprised.

Jane?

I got a call

from your school today.

Apparently, I misdated a note

excusing you from classes

- last week.

- It's not a big deal.

Oh, well, problem solved,

then, right?

You skipped school.

It's... it's the first week.

Is... is this what this year's

gonna be like?

- And you lied to the school.

- I never lied.

No, forging a note

is lying, Jane.

You're smart enough

to know that.

Well, apparently I'm not, Mom.

Don't forget we have

that party tonight. Not you.

- Jane.

- MARTIN: You're staying right here with me.

- I apologize, okay?

- I want to know where you were.

Denise and I went to a rally

to hear Gloria Steinem speak.

What?

Gloria Steinem. She's a writer.

She just started

her own magazine.

She testified in the Senate

about...

Yeah, I know

who Gloria Steinem is.

What if you got hurt

or arrested?

Mom, it's a rally, not a riot.

Jane, these things

can get out of hand.

Okay, well, I'm 15 years old,

and you don't need

- to control every minute of my life.

- Yes, I do.

That is my job. And your job

is to go to school and learn.

Well, Gloria says we need

to unlearn the status quo.

Oh, so you're

on a first-name basis now?

You know what, Mom?

If you want to sit around

with your students and talk

- about how shitty it is to be a girl...

- Hey. Language.

But don't pretend

it's a movement, okay?

It's not a movement

if everyone's just sitting.

- That's a support group.

- MARTIN: Jane, that's enough.

We should get going.

Yeah, go make yourself pretty

for Daddy's party.

You know what?

Go to your room.

Fine.

(DOOR SLAMS)

No, no, it's well known.

Tax is the only genuinely

funny area of the law.

INTERN: I think most of us

just want careers that have

- a little more, uh, impact.

- Hmm.

You know, young people

in Sweden these days

- aren't getting married?

- Really?

MARTIN: It's true.

They're getting engaged.

- INTERN: Hmm.

- They're still living together.

They're still having kids,

raising a family.

But they're not getting

married. You know why?

INTERN:

They can have sex without it.

(MEN LAUGHING)

- It's because of taxes.

- Mm-hmm. - Ah.

That's true. After the w*r,

Sweden passed a law that said

married couples will now file

joint income tax returns.

However,

unlike the United States,

they weren't given

any of the benefits from it.

So married Swedes

were finding themselves

in the uncomfortable position

of now being

in a higher tax bracket.

- (CHUCKLES): Oh, really?

- So they got divorced.

MARTIN: Of course, they

were still living together.

So the Swedish government

then passes a new law

that says, all right, married

couples who get divorced

but continue to live together,

for tax purposes,

will be considered

still married.

So they did

what anyone would do.

They add a second entrance

to their home

with a nice wall that goes

right down the middle,

with doors for...

(CLICKS TONGUE) easy access.

- (MEN LAUGHING)

- "All right, fine,"

says the Swedish government,

"new law."

Once married,

now divorced couples living

in a two-income household

that is subdivided would,

again, for tax purposes,

be considered living together,

and therefore...

INTERN:

Therefore still married.

- MARTIN: Now he's got it.

- (LAUGHTER)

And this went on for decades.

All the while,

a whole generation of Swedes

simply skirted the issue

by never getting married

in the first place.

Thank you.

Speaking of, have you all met

my lovely wife, Ruth?

The moral of this story

is that in their attempt

to raise revenue,

the Swedish government

ruined all those young men's

best hope at happiness.

- (LAUGHTER)

- Exactly. Because...

how a government taxes

its citizens

is a direct declaration

of a country's values.

So tell me, what could have

more impact than that?

(LAUGHTER)

You'd be wise to listen, boys.

I-I swear to Christ,

Martin Ginsburg will be signing

all of our checks someday.

(LAUGHTER)

You're a smart girl, Ruthy.

You married a star.

(CHUCKLES):

Tom Maller's barely evolved.

He started walking upright

last week.

- You always do that.

- What?

You act like...

like it doesn't matter.

- No. (MUTTERS)

- But all the little brush-offs,

the dismissive pats

on the head,

- it-it matters, Marty.

- Why?

You know what you're doing

is important, so who cares?

Okay, fine. Next time my boss

gives me a clumsy compliment,

I'll challenge him to a duel.

Will that make you happy?

I wouldn't want to hurt

your stellar reputation.

Just tell me what you want.

Nothing. I want nothing.

I-I want you to go to work

- and wow your bosses and clients...

- Oh, great.

...and be the youngest partner

in the history of the firm.

That's not fair. That's not

fair, and you know it.

Then I want you

to walk me home, Marty,

so I can sit in my corner

and write a lesson plan

to inspire the next generation

of students...

- No one's put you in the corner.

- ...to go forth

- and fight for equality.

- I don't understand why

you're acting like that's

such a bad thing.

You're out there training

the next generation of lawyers

to change the world.

'Cause that's

what I wanted to do!

Kiki. Kiki.

(CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING)

- (KNOCKING)

- (DOOR OPENS)

Page 21.

I don't read tax court cases.

Read this one.

The IRS denied a petitioner

a tax deduction

to hire a nurse to take care

of an invalid mother.

- Sounds like a real page-turner.

- Hmm.

- Ask me why.

- Marty, I have a lecture to write.

Hmm. Okay.

It's because

the petitioner is a man.

Marty...

Section 214 of the tax code

assumes a caregiver

has to be a woman.

This is sex-based

discrimination

against a man.

(CLICKS TONGUE)

Poor guy.

If a federal court

ruled that this law

is unconstitutional,

then it could become

the precedent others refer to

and build on.

Men and women both. It-it...

It could topple

the whole damn system

of discrimination.

- (LAUGHS)

- What?

Nothing.

I'm just thrilled

at your newfound enthusiasm

for tax law.

Marty.

(SIGHS)

Oh, Marty.

- We need to take this case.

- (ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)

MAN: Of course he says

he's against bombing Cambodia.

I want to know, where's

the bill to defund it?

It's derogatory, it's taunting,

but it's speech.

Hi. Mel Wulf is expecting me.

He wants to get his hands

on Nixon, or he hopes

- the Viet Cong do?

- Well, why? What's the difference?

Five years in prison.

Go.

Oh...

I'm an acorn

short and round

Lying on the dusty ground

Everybody steps on me

That is why I'm cracked,

you see

I'm a nut

I'm a nut, I'm a nut

Come on.

I'm a nut

I'm a nut, I'm a nut

I'm a nut, I'm a nut,

I'm a nut

- (LAUGHS)

- Oh

I'm a nut,

but that's no sin

'Cause at Camp Che-Na-Wah

I fit right in.

(WOMAN CHUCKLES)

Ladies and gentlemen,

three-time Camp Che-Na-Wah

All-Around Camper,

Ruth "Kiki" Bader.

Oh, and for all you

who think this job is hard,

I judged the 13-and-unders with

a color w*r trophy on the line.

- (LAUGHTER)

- Back to work.

Hey, Kiki. What do you say?

- Hi, Mel.

- (LAUGHS)

Sorry about that.

(SCOFFS)

You said you had a case.

This is not a case...

this is the opening salvo

on a 50-year w*r for

a new class of civil rights.

- Yes, exactly.

- Huh. I can't do this.

- This is beyond my mandate.

- Wha...

American Civil Liberties Union?

Women's rights

are civil rights.

I'm still getting flack for

defending draft card burners.

And the right to protest

actually exists.

After you.

Here.

Phyllis, can I get a...?

(MEL GRUNTS)

How's Marty?

He's fine.

Still protecting the rich

against the predations

of the poor?

If we're gonna appeal,

the court needs to agree

there's a constitutional

handle here.

How did you even convince this

guy to let you represent him?

I-I'll take care of that.

- He doesn't know?

- Alone...

- Are you kidding me?

- Alone, the judges

- may not give Marty and I the benefit of the doubt.

- Whoa.

But with your name

alongside ours on the brief...

Yeah.

Mel, you must see the...

the opportunity

this case represents.

You think the judges

are gonna be sympathetic

just 'cause they all

have prostates?

Men and women all eat at the

same lunch counters, they drink

at the same water fountains,

they go to the same schools...

- Women can't attend Dartmouth.

- Men can't go to Smith.

Women police officers can't

patrol New York City streets.

We have to get...

We have to get credit cards

- in our husbands' names.

- (DOOR CLOSES)

You're not a minority.

You're 51% of the population!

And it's been tried.

Muller, Goesaert.

Uh... what's the other one?

The one with the woman

with the baseball bat.

- Gwendolyn Hoyt.

- Gwendolyn Hoyt. Exactly.

Yeah, and morally,

they were right.

Yet they lost.

Ruth...

morality does not win the day.

Look around you.

Dorothy Kenyon

could not get women equality

by arguing a case

with sex, m*rder

and prison time on the line.

You and Marty think

you're gonna do it

with this guy and his taxes?

(SIREN WHOOPING IN DISTANCE,

HORN HONKS)

Operator.

I-I... I need a number.

Denver, Colorado.

MARTIN: Come on,

you're gonna miss your flight.

Now, you have to get James from

school while I'm in Denver.

Mom, I told you,

Denise and I are starting our

- consciousness-raising group.

- MARTIN: Wait. Please wait.

- Take James with you.

- (WHISTLES)

Will you be all right?

- Yeah.

- We'll survive somehow.

Bye. Bye.

Go kick ass.

MARTIN:

Meter's running.

JANE:

Bye, Mom.

- Bye.

- JAMES: Bye, Mom.

Thank you.

(DOG BARKING IN DISTANCE)

(DOORBELL RINGS)

- Mr. Moritz.

- Mrs. Ginsburg.

Um, you're early.

Uh, I-I can come back

in ten minutes if you prefer.

No, you might as...

might as well come in now

and have your say.

Shoes off, please.

Just come on in.

Excuse me.

- Are you done, Mom?

- No. Not yet.

- You want your...

- I'm done, thanks.

- You want your crossword?

- Yeah.

- Okay.

- Please.

- Here you go.

- (SIGHS)

Mom.

- Uh-huh.

- This is Mrs. Ginsburg.

She's the New York lawyer

I told you about.

Mrs. Moritz, hello.

I thought she would be bigger.

- I... (CHUCKLES)

- Uh, y-you can have a seat.

Uh, here.

Here you go.

Do you want your magnifier?

- Yeah, please. Yeah.

- Okay.

CHARLES:

There you go. All right.

- You want a drink?

- Uh-huh.

I-I see you were a drum major.

I was a twirler.

That was a thousand years ago.

Mr. Moritz, about your case...

I don't have a case.

Four lawyers told me so.

And that judge...

Tietjens...

he basically called me

a tax cheat.

Are you?

I never cheated at anything

in my life.

"Tasmanian egg-layer."

Eight letters.

Not now, Mom.

Tell me in your own words,

why did you hire a nurse?

If you've never cared

for an ailing parent...

I have.

Then you know.

Between the dressing

and the bathing and the toilet,

it's not a task for one person,

especially if you have

a day job.

If it wasn't for Cleeta, uh,

I'd have to put Mom in a home.

So you deducted Cleeta's salary

on your taxes.

The judge said

the tax code was clear.

Caretaker's deduction

was available to all women,

but only to men who had wives

who were incapacitated or dead

- or were divorced.

- And you've never been married?

- No.

- The men who wrote that law couldn't even fathom

that a bachelor,

choosing to take care

of a parent at home,

might exist.

"Tasmanian egg-layer,"

- second letter: "L."

- Mom,

- I'll help you in a little bit.

- How about "platypus"?

Ah! Ah.

I'm a salesman, Mrs. Ginsburg,

and I know when I'm being sold.

With due respect,

you have $296 at issue.

I'm not here for the money.

We'd represent your appeal

pro bono if you'll let us.

So... the judge was wrong?

Mr. Moritz...

the law is wrong.

Thank you. I was hungry.

If it's not for the money...

why are you here?

The 14th Amendment to

the United States Constitution

says all people must be treated

equally under the law.

Yet there are...

I don't know how many laws

like the caregiver deduction

that say, in effect,

women stay home,

men go to work,

and that it should stay

that way forever.

I want to convince

the federal courts

that those laws

are unconstitutional.

How do you do that?

One case at a time.

Starting with yours.

So I'm a guinea pig?

No, sir.

You're the man marching

out ahead of the band,

leading the way.

(CHUCKLES QUIETLY)

Just like that drum major

you used to be.

- (HORNS HONKING)

- I've invested a lot of my own reputation

to building up your career,

and now you're on track

to be the youngest partner

in the history of the firm.

And you want to risk that

for some cockamamy case?

Tom, I'm contractually

obligated to ask

to take outside work,

and I'm asking, but...

Okay, for God sakes, you're

traipsing into this for what?

So your wife can feel

like a real lawyer?

She is a real lawyer, Tom.

You want to support Ruth,

tell her the truth.

- Which is?

- The case is unwinnable.

Congress can write

whatever taxes it wants.

That's not open

to constitutional att*ck.

Or maybe you just say that

because no one's been able

to successfully do it before.

Oh, Marty.

Fine. Try, but...

when you lose

and you embarrass our firm,

just be ready for your career

to come crashing back to earth.

Okay, noted, noted.

And thank you, Tom.

- Thank you. Thank you.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

No! m*rder

can never be condoned,

- least of all by a lawyer.

- It's called justice.

Yeah, what's just to you

may not be just to me

- or to someone else.

- You know what I'm talking about.

- MARTIN: Hello, family unit.

- And would it k*ll you to admit

that maybe I actually did

something right?

- This is an "A" paper.

- Yeah, of course it is.

You're a beautiful writer.

It just needs more work.

Please tell me

you aren't going 15 rounds

over To k*ll a Mockingbird.

Daddy, can you please tell Mom

that Atticus Finch

can be a role model.

He covers up

Bob Ewell's m*rder.

He's a terrible lawyer.

- Why? 'Cause you say so?

- No, not me.

Canon 1 of the American Bar

Association's Model Code

- of Responsibility.

- What are you talking about?!

It's called legal ethics.

Well, you'd do

exactly the same thing

if you actually had a heart.

(DOOR CLOSES)

I don't know where

she gets her stubbornness.

Can't imagine.

So, how was your day?

"History discloses that woman

"has always been dependent

upon man.

"Like children,

she needs special care.

This justifies a difference

in legislation..."

- Muller v. Oregon, the law of the land.

- Wow.

Or Bradwell v. Illinois.

"The destiny of woman

is the benign offices

"of wife and mother.

This is the law

of the Creator."

I'm writing this brief

and citing the same cases

with the exact same precedents

as-as everyone before us.

Marty, if this is

what we go in with,

we're gonna lose.

("QUESTION"

BY THE MOODY BLUES PLAYING)

Wait, wait, wait, wait.

Wait, wait, wait.

I got it. I got it.

At least she's not listening

to The Monkees.

- (KNOCKING)

- I'm busy.

Why do we never get

an answer

When we're knocking

at the door?

Because the truth

is hard to swal...

(MARTIN SIGHS)

(JANE SNIFFLES)

(WHISPERS):

Come here.

Come here.

(CRYING)

I'm fine.

(SNIFFLES)

I can be as tough as she is.

She's a bully.

And she needs everyone

to know how smart she is.

Do you want Mom

to stop being smart?

I want her to stop rubbing it

in everyone's face

all the time.

Grandma Celia d*ed

when Mom was about your age.

But up until her dying breath,

they would read together,

debate ideas together...

and she taught your mom

to question everything.

She's not trying

to bully you, Jane.

She just doesn't want you

to feel small.

She wants to give you

what her mom taught her.

That's how she...

shows her heart.

Hmm?

Is she okay?

She'll be fine.

This is stupid.

You're the one who said

I'm supposed to be in school.

If you're gonna write

about great American lawyers,

you may as well meet one.

(KEYS JINGLING)

You ladies look lost.

Well, spit it out.

Miss Kenyon,

w-we're here to see you.

I tried to make

an appointment...

Well, here I am.

I don't have all day.

It's about Gwendolyn Hoyt.

In that case,

I have no interest in talking

to either one of you.

I'm-I'm arguing a case.

Sex discrimination violates

the Equal Protection principle.

Equal Protection was coined

to grant equality to the n*gro,

a task at which

it has dismally failed.

What makes you think women

would fare any better?

Please, if we

could just talk for...

You want to know

how I blew it... is that it?

What I'd do differently?

Why? You think you

can change the country?

You should look

to her generation.

They're taking to the streets,

demanding change,

like we did when we fought

for the vote.

Our mistake

was thinking we'd won.

We started asking, "please,"

as if civil rights were sweets

to be handed out by judges.

Protests are important,

but changing the culture

means nothing

if the law doesn't change.

As a lawyer,

you must believe that.

Let me guess.

You're a professor, aren't you?

(CHUCKLES):

Yeah.

Ton of knowledge and no smarts.

- Mom, we should go.

- You want advice? Here it is.

Tell your client she won't find

equality in a courtroom.

My client's name

is Charles Moritz.

That's cute.

He hired a nurse to take care

of his mother, but...

he was denied a caregiver

deduction on his taxes.

He's never been married.

You found a bachelor taking

care of his mother at home.

The judges will be

repulsed by him.

Feeling anything is a start.

What did you say your name was?

Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Well...

sorry, Professor Ginsburg.

Maybe someday.

But the country isn't ready.

Change minds first,

then change the law.

If you'll excuse me,

the mayor's decided

to rename the neighborhood.

So now a developer is kicking

30 families out of the building

he abandoned ten years ago.

SoHo. Who ever heard

of such a ridiculous thing?

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

JANE: I know she's

your personal hero and all,

- but she's kind of a bitch.

- RUTH: No, she's formidable.

Dorothy Kenyon has been

fighting for women's rights

and civil rights and

labor rights her entire career.

She didn't always win,

but she made damn sure

she was taken seriously.

JANE:

She didn't help you.

- What are you gonna do now?

- (MAN WOLF WHISTLES)

It's the right cause,

it's the right client, but...

women have been losing the same

argument for over a century.

Well...

just because you lost a hundred

years before you started

is no reason not to try to win.

Jane, that was very wise.

You know who said it first?

Atticus Finch.

(CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMEN CLANKING)

Quick.

(MAN WOLF WHISTLES)

MAN:

Hey, looking good, ladies!

- (MAN LAUGHS)

- Just ignore them.

Hey, we'll keep you warm

if you're getting wet.

Oh, yeah? Real nice!

Do you kiss your mother

with that mouth, assh*le?

- Oh, whoa.

- Whoa!

Mom, you can't let boys

talk to you like that.

Taxi!

Mom, come on.

You're getting soaked.

Look at you, Jane.

You're a liberated,

fearless young woman.

20 years ago, you couldn't

have been who you are today.

Dorothy Kenyon's wrong... the...

the times have already changed.

- (HORN HONKS)

- DRIVER: You coming or what?

Yeah, yeah, we're coming.

RUTH:

It's what Professor Freund

said at Harvard.

"A court ought not be affected

by the weather of the day,

but will be

by the climate of the era."

Okay, so we're not going back

and refighting old cases?

No, we're arguing

that the precedents

- should no longer apply.

- Right. But, Ruth,

Freund was talking about Brown

v. the Board of Education.

That's a

once-in-a-generation case.

Yeah, and we're

the next generation.

RUTH: "Equal Protection applies

"to all persons.

A class in which men and women

share full membership."

WOMAN:

"A divorced man counts the same

- as a widower."

- You're saying that this guy

could have married his nurse,

got divorced the next day,

and then he'd be eligible

for the tax deduction?

That's totally nuts.

All right, our client is a man.

We cannot lose sight of that,

because men are also harmed

by this stereotype.

That little boys are told

they can't be nurses,

they can't be teachers,

they can't be secretaries.

Or cook dinner

for their families.

Exactly.

We're counting on you, too.

...wholly irrational

distinction

between single sons

and daughters.

Any tax preparer may have

an invalid parent...

MARTIN: Any tax preparer

may have an ailing parent,

- even an unmarried man.

- ...unalterable

biological traits

of birth over which the...

MARTIN: The principles

of American democracy

should apply

to men and women equally.

RUTH: ...arbitrary

and equal treatment

described by the Constitution.

MARTIN: The law shouldn't

reward or penalize taxpayers

for their sex.

Section 214 draws a line

solely on the basis of sex.

(TYPEWRITER BELL DINGS)

Professor Ginsburg,

I finished typing the brief.

(GASPS SOFTLY)

You're a saint, Millicent.

May I make an observation?

It's just...

when I was typing it up,

jumping out

all over the brief was...

well...

sex.

- Sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex.

- Oh. (LAUGHS)

- Oh.

- It reeks of hormones

and back seats, and...

you know how men are.

Maybe you should try

a less distracting word.

Maybe...

"gender."

You realize that means...

That's no problem.

I'm happy to type it again.

Thanks.

MEL: Guessing doesn't do us

any good... I need to know

how many people were

turned away from the polls.

Yeah, the affiliate

still hasn't sent the list.

Well, then call Brian Tanner.

Remind him that we're

on the same team.

Tell him if he doesn't start

acting like it, I'm gonna fly

to Wisconsin and personally

rip his throat out myself.

Melvin.

Didn't your mother ever

teach you to clean your room?

Miss Kenyon.

Time for your annual

dusting-off already?

(BOTH CHUCKLE)

In 1776, Abigail Adams

wrote her husband a letter.

"As you write this

new constitution," she said,

"remember the ladies."

You know what that bastard

went ahead and did?

Well, I can guess.

"Idaho Statesman."

You need a hobby.

These poor people.

Sally and Cecil Reed, divorced.

Their son committed su1c1de.

Both parents want

to administer his estate.

In Idaho, the law says,

in this situation,

males must be preferred

to females.

Why?

'Cause men are better at math.

And the Idaho Supreme Court

just said

that is perfectly legal.

Dorothy...

I've got student protestors

in jail in California.

I got schools in Mississippi

that still refuse

to desegregate. I...

You're a sissy.

The Board threatened to can you

because you stood up

for draft dodgers,

and you've had your tail

between your legs ever since.

That-that-that is not...

We don't have the resources

to take this on.

I've seen you stand up

to the might of government

with sling and stone

for what you know to be right.

And, kid, I loved you for it.

They're not

gonna fire you, Mel.

The Board's a bunch

of tired old fools.

They don't have the nerve

to do it.

(SIGHS) I should know.

I'm one of 'em.

John Adams forgot the ladies.

And it's time the ACLU

got back in the fight.

- Okay.

- Good.

Now, here's where you start.

It's a case headed

to the Tenth Circuit.

It's a professor

out of Rutgers.

Smart cookie.

Ruth.

But nowhere does

the Constitution say

the federal government

must treat people equally.

What did the court say

about that, Mrs. Parker?

That the Due Process Clause

implies that equal protection

applies to the federal

government as well.

Can you cite the case?

MEL:

Bolling v. Sharpe.

347 U.S. 497.

Uh, decided in conjunction

with Brown v. Board

of Education, 1954.

Bolling desegregated

all Washington D.C.'s

public schools.

Chief Justice Warren,

writing for the court.

How about it, teach?

Do I get an "A"?

(MEL CHUCKLES)

Well played,

sending that newspaper

and the brief to Kenyon.

I thought

she might have advice.

Cut the sh*t.

Don't ever do that to me again.

What do you think of the brief?

It's a compelling argument.

Brilliantly reasoned.

More women than ever

are working now. And why not?

We have preschools,

we have washing machines,

cheap contraceptives...

Yeah, times have changed.

There's a glaring

problem, though.

In the unlikely event that

you actually win this thing,

what's the remedy?

The court takes away

the caregiver deduction

for everybody,

including working mothers.

- Then you've done more harm than good.

- No.

Do you remember

Justice Harlan's opinion

last June

in Welsh v. United States?

Yeah.

He said laws could be extended

when doing so would be closer

to the legislature's intent

than overturning would be.

Yeah, we're adding

one more section to the brief.

Urging the court

to extend the law

to include Charlie

as well as everyone else.

All right.

The ACLU is prepared to put

their name on your brief.

- We appreciate your support.

- (CHUCKLES): Stop.

I still say I'd rather be

a woman in this country

than a black man or a...

socialist

or a religious minority.

Now, let's talk about

you taking on Reed v. Reed.

- Oh. Stop. No.

- Well...

all men in Idaho

are better at math?

Ruth, I gave you one case.

That's all you get.

The Moritz argument works just

as well for a female client.

And Reed's

a state supreme court case,

which means

the U.S. Supreme Court

- must hear the appeal.

- I-I told you,

I don't want

another 50-year battle.

Call Sally Reed's lawyer, Mel.

If I were you, I would worry

about my own case.

And I expect to see

your remedy arguments

before they go

to the Tenth Circuit.

And I want to be there

when you practice

your oral arguments.

We're doing a moot court.

No.

It's not negotiable.

When?

Soon as we get the

government's response brief.

BOZARTH: Where did these people

go to law school?

You can't make

a constitutional challenge

to the tax laws, can you?

And who's ever heard

of gender discrimination?

It's a stretch.

These folks are running at hell

with a bucket of water.

Case law is filled

with challenges

that could not be made...

till they were.

I'm putting Murphy

on writing our response brief.

- With due respect, Mr. Brown...

- Not personal, Bozarth.

But if we're not careful,

this appeal could cast a...

cloud of unconstitutionality

over every federal law

that differentiates

between men and women.

I need someone

more seasoned on this.

Could you get me

the solicitor general, please?

I pulled the file.

I deserve the chance.

Murphy's a weak sister.

I know how to win

this case, sir.

Better than Murphy.

Better than anyone.

You need me on this appeal.

This is Brown.

I need to see him.

Okay.

Tell me.

Gender equality

as a civil right?

When everyone's aggrieved

and everyone's a victim.

It's what the ACLU does:

divide the country

into smaller and smaller

subgroups.

- Ginsburg. Cancer, right?

- Mm-hmm.

- And the wife, very demanding.

- But smart.

Ten years.

Ten years I fought to enroll

women at Harvard Law.

The faculty, the university,

my wife warned me against it.

Now I'm solicitor general,

it comes back to haunt me.

Erwin, we could settle.

Martin Ginsburg was

one of my best students,

a practical young man...

we can call him, tell him

we'll give the man his money

and go our separate ways.

No. No.

We settle now,

it's open season.

Let's put this idea

of gender discrimination to bed

once and for all.

They handed us a winnable case.

Then we'll win it.

You think he's up to it?

Oh, Mr. Bozarth

is a fine litigator.

Tell him your idea.

We list the laws.

What laws?

All of them.

Every federal law that treats

men and women differently.

We show the court exactly

what kind of can of worms

these folks are trying to open.

But, son,

the last anyone checked,

the U.S. Code

was 20,000 pages long.

Who's going to read it? You?

I can get it done, sir.

I just need an introduction.

To whom?

The Secretary of Defense.

BROWN: These computers will

find what we're looking for?

Yes, sir.

In just a few days.

Without any human beings

actually reading the laws.

What a horrifying age.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

Ruth Bader Ginsburg?

Delivery from

the Department of Justice.

Oh.

JANE: Can someone pass me

Title XXXIII?

Get this. There's a law

that we're not allowed

to fly m*llitary cargo planes.

It says here

that we're not allowed

- to work in mines.

- Why would you want to?

Well, that's not the point.

We should be allowed.

You really think you

can change all those laws?

- MARTY (CALLS): Kiki?

- That's the plan.

Curtain's up in 45 minutes.

Might be a novel experience

to get there before it starts

for a change.

Please tell me

that you are... dressed.

Hi. What are you doing?

Government's brief came.

And look who else is on it.

I knew Griswold was trying

to get Brown over to the DOJ.

Looks like that worked.

- How's it look?

- Check out Appendix E.

JANE:

It's every federal law

that discriminates

on the basis of sex.

We're looking them all up.

There must be hundreds.

- Good God.

- RUTH: Hmm.

BROWN: Well, you're convinced

Daugherty will see it our way.

Well, based on reading

all of his opinions, yes.

And so will Holloway.

But the final judge...

Doyle...

well, he's going to be

a tougher nut to cr*ck.

- That's unacceptable.

- We need a unanimous decision

out of the Tenth Circuit,

James.

We don't want so-called

gender discrimination

finding its way

to the Supreme Court.

Yes, sir, I understand that.

What-what makes this judge

so difficult?

Well, ma'am,

he's a civil rights crusader.

Two years ago,

he ordered Denver

to start busing black students

to white schools.

There were protests, arson,

demands for him

to quit the bench.

But even after someone threw

a b*mb at his house,

Doyle wouldn't budge.

GRISWOLD: In that case,

he was enforcing the law.

The Ginsburgs

are asking him to make law.

We need to drive home

the difference.

Paint the judges a picture

of the America that will exist

if they rule the wrong way.

Children running home from

school to find no one's there.

Mommy's at the office

or on a factory floor.

Man and woman vie

for the same job,

she can work for less.

What is a man

without a paycheck

to take care of his family?

BROWN:

What woman would want him?

Wages would go down.

Divorce rates would soar.

The very fabric of our society

would begin to unravel.

Exactly. The other side

wants this to be

about the Equal Protection

principle.

GRISWOLD:

The judges are deciding

what kind of country,

what kind of society

they want their children and

grandchildren to grow up in.

You make sure the court sees

what's at stake

is the American family.

JAMES:

Whoa!

Cool!

(DOORBELL RINGS)

Uh, Mom?

- Can I be on the jury?

- No, there is no jury

in federal appeals court,

no witnesses, no evidence.

Just you and the judges.

- Gerry!

- Hello.

- Hello.

- (CHUCKLES) How are you?

- You remember Jane.

- JANE: Hi.

Jane, my old professor,

Gerald Gunther.

Come on in.

Look at you. All grown up.

- Hello, James.

- Hi.

- What do you think of our courtroom?

- Huh.

Well, all that's missing

is Justice holding her scales.

So, who did Mel find

to be the third judge?

- Pauli Murray.

- So he's not making it easy for you, huh?

- Who's Pauli Murray?

- Thurgood Marshall himself

called Pauli's writings

the "Bible of

the civil rights movement."

Gerry.

I come bearing your gavel.

(CHUCKLES)

(GAVEL BANGING)

GUNTHER: Counsel for

the appellant, you may proceed.

- (GAVEL POUNDS)

- Again.

Your Honors,

and may it please the court.

Section 214 of the tax code

covers employed single women

who care for their dependents,

but excludes Charles Moritz,

a-a bachelor,

providing the same care.

My wife stays home

to raise our children.

Are you saying she's oppressed?

- No, Judge, but as a man, you may not...

- MEL: No, no, no.

Stop, stop. Stop.

Never make it about the judge.

(CHUCKLING): You don't think

the judge knows he's a man?

No, I don't want her to put him

on the defensive

- about it, though.

- In Brown, we put it out there

without apology: this is wrong.

Yeah, no offense,

but Ruth doesn't exactly have

Thurgood Marshall's, uh...

Balls?

- Gravitas.

- Should I... should I start again?

Unless you think

you won the case already.

- GUNTHER: Whenever you're ready.

- (CLEARS THROAT)

Uh, Your Honors,

and may it please the court.

Section 214 of the tax code

covers employed single women

who care for their dependents,

but excludes Charles Moritz,

a bachelor,

providing the same care.

There is no rational basis,

because this...

Wh-Why is it not rational?

Men go out; women stay home.

It's been the way of things

for thousands of years.

H-Historical justification

was also used to legitimize

the separation of the races.

- Now, classification...

- Are you saying

race and gender are the same?

(FOOD CRUNCHING)

W-Well...

both are...

unalterable biological traits.

This nation struggles

to give blacks

fair representation

throughout society.

- Can you pass that?

- And you're saying that,

if we decide

in your client's favor,

we're committing ourselves

to moving towards half

of our, I don't know,

firemen being women,

half our nurses being men?

But why shouldn't men

be nurses? And if-if women want

- to fight fires, then...

- What about pilots?

Yeah, again, if women choose

to take on these roles...

- Judges?

- Why not?

CEOs? Generals?

What about garbagemen?

You want to be a garbageman?

Well, and if-if men want to be

teachers or raise children...

- Oh, come on.

- Percentages aren't the point.

- Wrong.

- People should be able to pursue their passions.

Wrong, wrong.

You're screwing it up, Ruth!

Have you...

have you read the appendix

- attached to their brief?

- You're making the wrong case.

These are laws written by men

who think we are privileged

to be excused

from men's obligations.

But it is not a privilege,

it is a cage,

and these laws are the bars!

So, that's it?

You're gonna take them all on

at the same time?

(SIGHS)

You asked the questions.

Well, it doesn't mean you have

to f*cking answer them, Ruth.

You're making

the government's case for them.

Look, you either make this case

about one man, or you lose.

'Cause to the judges,

you're not talking

about women in the abstract.

You're talking

about their wives,

at home, you know,

baking briskets.

You braise a brisket.

You don't bake it.

- Perhaps that's enough, Mel.

- No.

I don't think it is, Gerry.

Look, when you were a kid,

you were pretty

and you were smart as a whip,

but you're coming across

as this bitter, unlikable shrew

that I don't even recognize.

And if that's who shows up

in Denver, you will blow it.

And would it k*ll you to smile?

That's your advice? Just...

ignore the judges and smile?

Pt is the best

I've ever tasted.

You could evade.

Should women be firefighters?

"With all due respect,

Your Honor,

"I haven't considered it,

because my client

isn't a firefighter."

Or you can redirect.

"With respect, Judge, this case

is not about firefighters.

"It's about taxpayers,

and there's nothing

inherently masculine

about paying taxes."

Or cr*ck a joke. "Your Honor,

anyone who's raised a child

"couldn't possibly

be intimidated

by a burning building."

- (CHUCKLES SOFTLY)

- And then bring them back to your case.

Marty, you should do

the oral arguments.

No, no, no.

Ruth is the expert

on gender law.

At least half this case is tax.

Uh, the most important thing

is that Charles Moritz wins.

I said no, Mel. Drop it.

They could split the time.

Martin goes first,

focuses the argument on tax.

Then Ruth steps in,

talks about gender.

- Pauli, here you go.

- Thank you.

- Gerry, this is yours.

- Mel. Mel.

(WHISPERS):

There is no aspect of the law

at which Ruth Ginsburg

can be bested.

I don't know how things work

at the ACLU, but if anyone

at my firm couldn't see that,

they would be fired.

Objection noted, counselor.

- She's still arguing half.

- This is her...

Listen, she's written

a revolutionary argument,

but brief writing is

an academic's job. Okay?

Oral arguments require a lawyer

who can command

a judge's respect.

A real appellate lawyer.

(CLICKS TONGUE TWICE)

Oh, what a team

you're gonna be.

It was a good experience.

I think that was

a very productive exercise.

I have to go to a fund-raiser.

Pauli, Gerry, you want

to split a cab downtown?

- Sure.

- Sure.

- Good team, huh?

- It's good to see you, Gerry.

Thank you for coming.

- Bye-bye. - Bye.

- Bye. Great to see you.

(DOOR OPENS)

RUTH:

Bye.

You have such a light touch.

It... it's just

effortless for you,

- isn't it?

- Uh... Mel was goading you.

He was trying to make you

feel overwhelmed. That's...

Of course he was.

He's a relentless prick.

But it doesn't change the fact

- that I'm not ready.

- It's not your fault.

- You've never done this before.

- Well, is that what

I'm supposed to tell Charlie

when I blow it in court?

Do you want Theories in Public

Taxation with you in Denver?

- Who needs a tax reference when you have Marty?

- (CHUCKLES)

- (PHONE RINGING)

- Did you pack the, uh...

the Kirk v. Commission brief?

Yes.

Rutgers Law.

It's Mel Wulf for you.

(WHISPERS):

Just tell him I'm not here.

I'm sorry, Mr....

He says it's urgent.

- Yeah.

- What was so important?

I'm excited to work with you.

Ah-ah. Shh, shh. Ah-ah. No.

I understand.

She just walked in.

And to you, too.

Okay.

Ruth Ginsburg, Allen Derr.

How do you do?

The Supreme Court just

announced they're gonna hear

Reed v. Reed on appeal

from the Idaho Supreme Court.

- That's fantastic.

- ALLEN: Mrs. Reed is

very excited

for the opportunity.

Uh, Allen's

Sally Reed's lawyer.

So... is the ACLU gonna help?

Mm, you told me it was

the right thing to do, right?

ALLEN: Mel says that

no one knows this area

of the law better than you.

You're our secret w*apon, Ruth.

So...

y-you want me...

in the Supreme Court?

I, uh... uh...

I-I told Allen you'd be eager

to help him write his brief.

Oh.

Well... basically,

take the Moritz brief

and swap around the pronouns.

- Isn't that right?

- Well, it's a...

little more involved than that.

- Joking.

- (CHUCKLES)

All right,

let's start right away.

Allen, uh, enjoy the city.

You should catch a show

- while you're here.

- Oh, well, thank you.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

Oh, uh, Kiki and I have

some stuff to discuss.

Yes, of course.

I'll-I'll get out of your way.

Uh, it was a pleasure

meeting you, Ruth.

Or Kiki.

Uh... Mel.

- Oh. Um, I...

- Ah. Don't forget that.

Mustn't forget that, yeah.

What a schmuck.

Let me argue Reed in court.

- Oh, give me a break.

- I have no less experience

than Allen Derr

in federal court.

- You have zero experience.

- If you're gonna use

- my arguments...

- He's been Sally Reed's lawyer

for three years;

she trusts him.

She wouldn't even let me argue

the case. Now, listen to me

for a second... we have

someone else to discuss.

Ernie Brown called

this morning.

In light of Reed going

to the Supreme Court,

the government wants to settle

the Moritz case for a dollar.

Reed ups the profile

of our case.

Th-They're getting nervous.

I told them you'd be in D.C. on

Monday to sign the paperwork.

Why would you say that?

Charlie won't want to settle.

Well, convince him.

(LAUGHS):

I will not.

First, you took half

the argument away from me...

Nobody took anything away

from you, Ruth.

You weren't robbed

in the middle of the night.

All right? I was giving you

this opportunity

- for the good of the cause.

- You think you gave this to me?

In fact, I did.

And get your emotions in check.

You first.

Allen is gonna be arguing

in the Supreme Court

that times have changed.

We can't afford

the Tenth Circuit

saying that they haven't.

Nothing would strengthen

the argument more

- than the appeals court deciding for Charlie.

- Yes,

that would be very nice,

but here in the real world,

- with working lawyers...

- You think I can't be persuasive?

Oh, I've never been

more certain

about anything

in my life, Ruth.

You don't get to tell me

when to quit.

You couldn't even make it

through moot court

without embarrassing yourself.

You will lose, Ruth.

And when you do,

you will set the women's

movement back ten years. More.

We are dodging a b*llet here.

Are you the only one

that can't see that?

These are Allen's briefs

from the previous appeals.

Tie them into the framework

of the Moritz brief.

I'll review it

when you're done.

It's a Supreme Court brief.

I can assign it to someone else

if that's what you'd prefer.

Oh, and-and, Ruth.

Uh, the sooner

you call Charlie, the better.

RUTH:

I had this idea.

What's that?

Well, it doesn't matter now.

Tell me.

We could have taken Appendix E

from the government's brief,

that entire comprehensive

list of laws

that differentiates

between the sexes, and...

and turn it

into our own hit list.

We could have started

a special project

at the ACLU to go after

those laws one by one,

in the legislature,

in the courts,

until women and men were

genuinely equal under the law.

And I've been running around

claiming things have changed.

(SIGHS)

Daddy told me about the case.

(BREATH TREMBLES)

Why is Mel Wulf being

such a d*ck?

He thinks I'm gonna lose.

No way, Jose.

Not in my experience.

As Mr. Moritz's lawyer, I'm...

I'm ethically bound

to convey him the offer.

So would you like help taking

apart your life's work, or...

is that something

you'd rather do by yourself?

I...

I know that this case, that...

...that I disrupted our lives,

and...

(WHISPERS):

I'm sorry.

Sorry for what?

For-for doing your job?

Who is it for...

if not for me?

CHARLIE: And they'll say it,

right? That I'm not a cheater,

- that the law is unfair?

- No, Charlie,

the government

won't say that on its own.

But if they don't say it,

how will I have won?

You-you haven't.

But you-you get the money.

What about everyone else?

When you came to see me,

you said...

Charlie, the settlement

is only for you.

- No one else can benefit.

- (SIGHS)

But could we win?

Well...

we could, and...

and the impact

would last generations.

But the ACLU feels...

it's best

if you take the offer.

(SIGHS)

But you're my lawyer, Ruth.

What do you think?

- Ah, Ruth.

- Professor Brown.

Please come in.

(DOOR CLOSES)

Dean Griswold.

Mrs. Ginsburg.

I'm pleased you found a use

for your Harvard education.

Actually, what I'm doing now,

I learned at Columbia.

BROWN:

Ah.

Ruth was always my most

thoroughly prepared student.

(CHUCKLES):

So much to prove.

These days, the girls are

as hopeless as the men.

- (RUTH CHUCKLES)

- How's little Jane?

Not so little.

And we have another. James.

Mm, I'm sure

they keep you busy.

Yes.

Both of us.

Ernie has your paperwork ready.

My client was very excited

about your offer.

Good. Good.

He did, however,

have some conditions.

Conditions?

What kind of conditions?

First of all,

he'd like you to forgive

a hundred percent of the money.

None of this

one dollar business.

(CHUCKLES):

Yes, well, I'm sure

we can manage to arrange that.

And he'd like the government

to concede

that he did nothing wrong.

And enter into the court record

that Section 214

of the tax code

discriminates

on the basis of sex

and is therefore

unconstitutional.

I can't agree to that.

And you know it.

Does Mel Wulf know about this?

Then we'll see you in court.

(SIGHS HEAVILY)

Thank you, gentlemen.

It was a pleasure.

RUTH:

Your Honors...

and may it please the court.

Your Honors...

and may it please the court.

Your Honors, and may it...

(GROANS)

(WHISPERING):

Section 214 of the tax code.

Section 214

of the tax code.

Your Honors...

and may it please the court.

BROWN:

Good morning.

You're ready for this.

You've been ready for this

your whole life.

So go in there

and let the judges see

the Ruth Ginsburg I know.

- Oh, Professor Brown.

- Marty.

- Good to see you.

- You remember our daughter Jane.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

- Charlie.

- Good morning.

- You must be Jane.

- Nice to meet you, Mr. Moritz.

- Mr. Ginsburg.

- No, uh, Mel Wulf.

- ACLU.

- That's me. I'm Mr. Ginsburg.

- Nice to meet you, Charles.

- My pleasure.

Well, here we are.

All rise.

The United States Court of

Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

is now in session.

Judges Doyle, Holloway

and Daugherty presiding.

HOLLOWAY:

Be seated.

You have a century

of case law on your side.

Just do your job.

HOLLOWAY:

The first case is

docket number 71-1127.

Charles Moritz v. Commissioner

of Internal Revenue.

Each side will have

30 minutes to present.

When two minutes remain,

the court clerk will rise

to give warning; when your time

is up, he will sit.

Counsel for the appellant,

Mr. Ginsburg, you may proceed.

Good morning, Your Honors,

and may it please the court.

Today we are going

to demonstrate

that Section 214

of the U.S. tax code

unfairly discriminates

against our client,

Mr. Charles Moritz,

because he is a man.

HOLLOWAY:

Congress assumed that

a caregiver

is most likely a woman.

Is that so unreasonable?

If the law says all caregivers

are entitled to a deduction,

and if the writers,

in the back of their mind,

thought, well,

this will only apply to women,

then that would be

an assumption.

But they went farther

than that, Judge.

They explicitly list

who qualifies

- as a caregiver.

- As is their prerogative.

Yes, but, Judge,

I doubt that you would turn

the same blind eye if it said

only white caregivers.

Oh, that's hardly

the same thing.

Respectfully, we disagree.

I'm gonna turn it over

to my cocounsel,

who will discuss the

constitutional questions...

You're telling us that race

and gender are the same?

My cocounsel...

Yes, yes, we'll get to her

in a minute.

But I'd appreciate an answer

to my question.

In order for a law

to discriminate,

it must distinguish

between groups arbitrarily.

Is that correct?

My cocounsel will...

Mr. Ginsburg.

I have asked you.

It must be arbitrary. Yes.

And in this case,

we believe the law is.

Mr. Moritz is a man

who never married.

That may make him less likely

to have childcare

responsibilities,

but not parent care

responsibilities.

- And had he been a woman...

- DOYLE: And to your mind,

classifications of this kind

must always be discriminatory?

There's some help.

He's asking him

to make a broad

categorical claim.

MARTIN:

I can't speak to always, Judge.

I can only speak to this case

and this man.

Very well.

Thank you.

Then speak of him.

Again, the only distinction

between our client, Mr. Moritz,

and any other caregiver,

in Judge Daugherty's words,

is arbitrary.

Thank you,

and I cede the remainder

of my time to my cocounsel.

(GALLERY MURMURING QUIETLY)

(MAN COUGHS)

(ELECTRONIC FEEDBACK)

Your Honors...

Whenever you're ready,

Mrs. Ginsburg.

Your Honors,

and may it please the court.

Section 214

denies Mr. Moritz

a caregiver tax deduction

available to similarly

situated women...

Yes, yes, we've...

we've been through all that.

(CHUCKLES) Uh, Mrs. Ginsburg,

you are aware

that the government has

three coequal branches?

- Mrs. Ginsburg?

- Yes, of course, Your Honor.

And that it is the

Congress's role to write law?

Your Honor, I understand

how government works.

(QUIETLY):

Take it easy, Ruth.

Well, uh, sometimes a law,

even a good law,

even a law that is legal

under the Constitution,

may not be good for every

individual it affects.

I have a question.

If I understand correctly,

you're concerned about men

and women being pigeonholed

into certain roles

based on gender.

Yes, that's correct.

- Because...

- Excuse me.

Uh, that wasn't my question.

It strikes me

that the caregiver deduction

does the opposite.

It helps women be able to work

outside the home.

Isn't that a good thing?

But the law assumes

it must be the woman

who is supposed to be at home

in the first place.

Well, that is the case

in every family I know.

So it's the assumption

that's the problem.

Then when can a law

differentiate

on the basis of sex? Never?

When the classification

rationally relates to the law.

Keeping women out of combat,

for example.

I'm not sure whether I agree

with that example...

Oh, so you think women belong

on the front lines now, too?

RUTH:

No, that's not what...

Gender, like race,

is a biological,

unalterable trait.

There is nothing that women are

inherently better at than men,

nor vice versa.

Growing a beard?

- (LAUGHTER)

- Well, that's...

- Lactation.

- (LAUGHTER)

No thinking person

could possibly imagine

that Charles Moritz's

gender relates

- to his abilit...

- (ELECTRONIC FEEDBACK)

DOYLE:

Why can't we, Mrs. Ginsburg?

In most households, aren't

women the primary caregivers?

Aren't men the breadwinners?

Aren't they?

Most households,

yes, Your Honor.

Doesn't that reality suggest

that that's

the natural order of things?

Respectfully, Your Honors,

I'd like to reserve

the remainder of my time

for rebuttal.

Not sure I followed that.

H-How are we doing?

(DESCENDING WHISTLE)

(IMITATES SOFT expl*si*n)

It's okay.

It's not over yet.

HOLLOWAY:

Mr. Bozarth for the appellee,

- you may proceed.

- Don't let them forget

what this case is really about.

You'll be fine.

Ah, Bozarth.

- The, uh, master of citations.

- (BOZARTH CLEARS THROAT)

That's what my family

calls me, too, Judge.

(LIGHT LAUGHTER)

Your Honors,

and may it please the court.

Congress created

this tax deduction

to help caregivers

go out and work.

Caregivers.

Folks that, if they weren't

working, would stay home.

Now, are we meant

to believe that this man

would have the skill

or even the caregiver's

instinct to do that?

DOYLE:

Why can't we believe that?

Why does an unwed woman

have that instinct

but not an unwed man?

Or a widower, for that matter?

BOZARTH: Well, respectfully,

Judge Doyle,

a widower doesn't choose

to be a caregiver.

It's thrust upon them.

And as for women,

it doesn't take

a legal treatise

to prove what

a hundred thousand years

of human history

has made indelibly clear.

DOYLE:

And Congress can write

the tax code to enforce

this natural law?

Congress can write

whatever tax code it wants.

All I'm saying, Judge,

is that given

the natural order of things,

this man, Mr. Moritz,

hasn't suffered as a result.

But the country will suffer

if the court doesn't find

for the appellee.

Your Honors, I am certain

there isn't a man among us

who wouldn't try to ease

his wife's burdens.

So I don't see

how we can judge negatively

the members of Congress

who would do the same.

And I'm not alone in that.

There is a long and honorable

tradition in the courts

of upholding laws

like this one.

I, for one, would rather see

my government err

on the side

of caring too much...

...of trying too hard

to help the ladies

of this country,

rather than to be indifferent

to their unique burdens.

Now, maybe Mr. Moritz

disagrees.

Or maybe he just

doesn't like paying taxes.

(QUIET SCOFFING)

Personally,

I don't believe that.

I believe that Charles Moritz

is a victim.

Not of his government,

but of the lawyers

who have used his case

to achieve their own ends.

Radical social change.

(GALLERY MURMURING)

We rest our case

on our briefs and argument,

and ask that the court uphold

the tax court's decision.

Thank you.

Counsel for the appellant,

you have four minutes

for rebuttal.

Counsel for the appellant?

Counselor.

"Radical social change."

When I was in law school,

there was no women's bathroom.

(LAUGHTER)

It's amazing to me now

that we never complained.

Not because we were timid;

we were just astounded

to be in law school at all.

A hundred years ago, Myra

Bradwell wanted to be a lawyer.

She had fulfilled

the requirements

for the Illinois bar,

but she wasn't allowed

to practice

because she was a woman.

An injustice she asked

the Supreme Court to correct.

Illinois was so confident

of victory,

they didn't even send a lawyer

to argue their side.

They were right.

She lost.

That was the first time

someone went to court

to challenge his or her

prescribed gender role.

A hundred years ago.

"Radical... social...

change."

65 years ago,

when women in Oregon

wanted to work overtime

and make more money,

as men could, the court looked

to the precedent in Bradwell

and said no.

So then there were

two precedents.

Then three, then four,

and on and on,

and you can draw a direct line

from Myra Bradwell

to Gwendolyn Hoyt,

told ten years ago

she was not entitled

to a jury of her peers.

That is the legacy

the government asks you

to uphold today.

You are being urged

to protect the culture

and traditions and morality

of an America

that no longer exists.

A generation ago,

my students would have been

arrested for indecency

for wearing the clothes

that they do.

- (LAUGHTER)

- 65 years ago,

it would have been unimaginable

that my daughter

would aspire to a career.

And a hundred years ago...

I would not have the right

to stand before you.

There are 178 laws

that differentiate

on the basis of sex.

Count them.

The government did the favor

of compiling them for you.

And while you're at it...

I urge you to read them.

They're obstacles

to our children's aspirations.

You're asking us to overturn

nearly a century of precedent.

I'm asking you

to set a new precedent,

as courts have done before

when the law is outdated.

But in those cases,

the courts had

a clear constitutional handle.

The word "woman"

does not appear even once

in the U.S. Constitution.

Nor does the word "freedom,"

Your Honor.

Go on...

Professor Ginsburg.

The principal purpose

of Section 214

is not to protect women

nor to discriminate

against men.

It is to provide caregivers

the opportunity

to work outside the home.

Therefore, as the Supreme Court

did in Levy v. Louisiana,

this court should fix the law

most in line

with the legislative intent.

Extend the deduction

to never-married men.

Help all caregivers equally.

Charles Moritz was well-raised

to be the sort of man

we should all hope our sons

will become.

Charlie deserves

our admiration.

Not only has he

taken on the burden

of caring for his

very strong-willed mother

when no one would

expect it of him,

but in doing so, he has

surpassed the limitations

the rest of us and our laws

seek to force upon him.

We're not asking you

to change the country.

That's already happened

without any court's permission.

We're asking you to protect the

right of the country to change.

Our sons and daughters

are barred by law

from opportunities

based on assumptions

about their abilities.

How will they ever disprove

these assumptions

if laws like Section 214

are allowed to stand?

We all must take these laws on,

one by one,

for as long as it takes,

for their sakes.

You have the power

to set the precedent

that will get us started.

You can right this wrong.

We rest our case

on our briefs and argument,

and ask...

that you reverse

the tax court's decision.

Kiki!

That was perfect.

- That was perfect.

- We don't even know who won.

Doesn't matter.

It was right.

This is just the beginning.

- Mm!

- (GIGGLES)

I'm gonna go gloat.

(BOTH LAUGH)

- Martin. Thank you.

- Of course, Charles.

Jane.

Ruth, I...

- We'll be in touch.

- Yeah.

You did it.

We did it.

Oh, and I say we celebrate

and go pick up James

and get some pizza.

JUDGE 1:

We'll hear arguments next

in number four,

Reed against Reed...

JUDGE 2:

...next in, uh, 71-1694,

Frontiero against Laird.

JUDGE 1: ...Weinberger

against Wiesenfeld.

JUDGE 3:

...Khan against Shell.

JUDGE 4: ...Edwards

against Healy and others.

CHIEF JUSTICE:

Mrs. Ginsburg.

RUTH BADER GINSBURG:

Mr. Chief Justice,

and may it please the court.

Amicus views this case as kin

to Reed v. Reed, 404 U.S.

The sex criterion stigmatizes

when it is used to limit

hours of work for women only.

It assumes that all women

are preoccupied

with home and children.

These distinctions have

a common effect.

They help keep woman

in her place,

a place inferior

to that occupied by men.

The law must stop using sex

as a shorthand

for functional description.

The judgment enjoins

enforcement of the statute

insofar as it discriminates

on the basis of sex.

...practical effect,

laws of this quality

help to keep women

not on a pedestal,

but in a cage.

Sarah Grimk said,

"I ask no favor for my sex.

"All I ask of our brethren

is that they take their feet

off our necks."

Oh, one day I'll be gone

The world'll keep turning

I hope I leave this place

Better than I found it

Oh, it's hard,

I know it's hard

To be the lightning

in the dark

Hold on tight,

you'll be all right

You know it's time

Here comes the change

We're coming of age

This is not a phase

Here comes

Here comes the change

Is it a crazy thought

That if I have a child

I hope they live

to see the day

That everyone's equal?

Oh, it's hard,

I know it's hard

To be the right

inside the wrong

Hold on tight,

we'll be all right

You know it's ti-i-ime...

Oh, here comes the change

Oh, we're coming of age

This is not a phase

Here comes

Here comes the change

Hope there'll come

a time when we

Time when we

We can live and die free

And die free

I hope and pray

There'll come the day

And it's coming soon

Here comes the change

We're coming of age

This is not a phase

Here comes, here comes

Here comes the change

Oh, we're coming of age

This is not a phase

Oh, here come

And here comes the change

It's time to change

We are the change

Oh, here comes the change.

(SONG ENDS)

(MUSIC ENDS)
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