Ruth Bader Ginsburg returns to bench after absence due to illness

(JTA) — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg returned to the bench on Monday after missing courtroom arguments last week due to illness.

Ginsburg was in court in a session to grant new admissions to the bar, CNN reported. The report said she was wearing one of her lace collars.

The court will not return to the bench until Dec. 2.

A court spokesman told reporters on Wednesday that Ginsburg was home with a stomach virus and would read the briefs and transcripts of the oral arguments in the cases. That came after Chief Justice John Roberts announced from the bench that Ginsburg was “indisposed due to illness.”

Ginsburg, 86, underwent treatment in August for “a localized malignant tumor” on her pancreas. She had surgery last year to remove a cancerous growth from her left lung, her third bout with cancer.
She is one of three Jewish justices on the court and leads its liberal minority. She is the high court’s oldest justice.