Podcast appearances and mentions of Craig V Boren

In her fight for women’s rights, the then–ACLU lawyer Ruth Bader Ginsburg did something unexpected: She argued on behalf of men. “It didn’t matter to her if the plaintiff was a man or a woman,” says the Georgetown law professor Wendy Williams. “Because in most of those cases, the discrimination against the man was derivative of a prior and worse discrimination against the woman.” Craig v. Boren involved Oklahoma frat boys, a drive-through convenience store, and gender-specific beer laws. The Supreme Court’s landmark 1976 decision was foundational in advancing equal rights for women and represented a key moment in the future justice’s career. This story originally ran on More Perfect, a Radiolab spin-off about the Supreme Court. Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at theexperiment@theatlantic.com. Listen and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts

In Episode 11 of Notorious, we discussed the case of Craig v. Boren, in which Ruth Bader Ginsberg, an attorney for the ACLU, helped shape a new level of judicial review in gender discrimination cases, appearing as amicus curiae. In addressing Oklahoma laws that prevented young men, but not young women, from consuming low alcohol-content beer, the United States Supreme Court held that the gender classifications at issue were unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.  In making that determination, the Court found that the statistics relied on by the state were insufficient to show a substantial relationship between the statute and the benefits intended to stem from it.  As a result, the Court instituted a new standard of judicial review, "intermediate scrutiny" under which: (1) the state must prove the existence of specific important governmental objectives; and (2) the law must be substantially related to the achievement of those objectives. Justice Ginsberg, who would not join the Supreme Court, until 17 years later, influenced the outcome as an ACLU lawyer, appearing as amicus curiae, or a friend of the Court.  Ginsburg advocated on behalf of the male petitioner, arguing for striking down a law that discriminated against young men. Patterson Belknap attorneys, Michelle Bufano, Alejandro Cruz and Patricia Kim discuss this case and Justice Ginsburg's long legacy of fighting for equality for all.    Related Resources: For a selection of Justice Ginsburg's writings, see Decisions and Dissents of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg:  A Selection, edited by Corey Brettschneider. For more information about Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, see www.pbwt.com. For information about becoming a guest on Notorious, email Michelle Bufano. For questions or more information about Notorious, email Jenni Dickson. Also, check out the Patterson Belknap podcast, How to Build A Nation in 15 Weeks. Related People: Michelle Bufano Alejandro Cruz Patricia Kim

This month, we discuss the landmark Supreme Court case Craig v. Boren, led by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and its impact on gender equality across the nation.   View the show notes here.   Song Credits: No Good Layabout by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4140-no-good-layabout License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/   Perspectives by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4207-perspectives License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/   Summer Day by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4433-summer-day License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/   Lobby Time by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3986-lobby-time License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

“Equal protection of the laws” was granted to all persons by the 14th Amendment in 1868. But for nearly a century after that, women had a hard time convincing the courts that they should be allowed to be jurors, lawyers, and bartenders, just the same as men. A then-lawyer at the ACLU named Ruth Bader Ginsburg set out to convince an all-male Supreme Court to take sex discrimination seriously with an unconventional strategy. She didn’t just bring cases where women were the victims of discrimination; she also brought cases where men were the victims. In this episode, we look at how a key battle for gender equality was won with frat boys and beer.   The key voices: Carolyn Whitener, former owner of the Honk n’ Holler Curtis Craig, appellant in Craig v. Boren Fred Gilbert, lawyer who represented Craig in Craig v. Boren Mary Hartnett, adjunct professor at Georgetown Law Wendy Williams, professor emerita at Georgetown Law The key cases: 1873: Bradwell v. The State 1948: Goesart v. Cleary 1961: Hoyt v. Florida 1971: Reed v. Reed 1973: Frontiero v. Richardson 1975: Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld 1976: Craig v. Boren 1996: United States v. Virginia The key links: ACLU Women’s Rights Project My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, with Mary Hartnett and Wendy Williams Sisters in Law by Linda Hirshman “What’s Wrong With ‘Equal Rights’ For Women” by Phyllis Schlafly   Special thanks to Stephen Wiesenfeld, Alison Keith, and Bob Darcy. Leadership support for More Perfect is provided by The Joyce Foundation. Additional funding is provided by The Charles Evans Hughes Memorial Foundation. Supreme Court archival audio comes from Oyez®, a free law project in collaboration with the Legal Information Institute at Cornell.