Mount Pleasant Magazine Nov/Dec 2020

www.CharlestonWomen.com | www.ReadCW.com | www.CharlestonBrides.com CW charleston women Did you know? R uth Bader Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion in two Supreme Court cases that were directly linked to South Carolina. In 2000, the Supreme Court heard a case involving a lawsuit against Laidlaw Environmental Services, which operated a wastewater treatment facility in Spartanburg County. A group known as Friends of the Earth represented area residents, who claimed the company’s act of polluting the North Tyger River with mercury prevented their use of the public waterway for recreational purposes. Although Laidlaw had closed the plant by the time the case was heard, the high court ruled 7-2 that the action did not make the case moot or absolve the company from paying civil penalties. Ginsburg wrote the opinion for the Court’s majority, stating that even though the company had terminated its actions, it might open a similar facility elsewhere and potentially resume its practice of violating the Clean Water Act. The Court’s decision was aimed at deterring future violations. One of the most famous decisions during Ginsburg’s time was the 1996 Supreme Court’s 7-1 ruling that Virginia Military Institute violated the 14th Amendment equal protection clause by not admitting women to its all-male cadet program. RBG wrote the opinion for the majority, stating “All gender-based classifications today”must be examined with “heightened security.”The case paralleled a decision made months earlier by The Citadel’s Board of Visitors to admit women to its cadet program or risk losing state money, allowing Shannon Faulkner to be admitted to the Corps of Cadets. The VMI decision legally anchored the policy of gender-based discrimination in public education, ensuring the future enrollment of qualified women applicants at The Citadel. Three female students were admitted the following year, including current state legislator Nancy Mace of Daniel Island. Today, about 10% of The Citadel’s Corps of Cadets is female. from Charleston Fine Homes Office: 843-856-8800 www.charleston̎inehomes.com Cell:843-810-8287 Chari@CharlestonFineHomes.com ChariKarinshak FranneSchwarb Cell:843-270-1207 Franne@CharlestonFineHomes.com YvetteGrist Cell:843-312-0696 Yvette@CharlestonFineHomes.com from Char l e s t on F i n e Home s www.charleston̎inehomes.com