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Gavel Drop: Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s #MeToo Moment

Even a sitting Supreme Court justice has had a #MeToo moment in her career.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg spoke at the Sundance Film Festival. Allison Shelley/Getty Images

For more on Ruth Bader Ginsburg, check out our special report.

Welcome to Gavel Drop, our roundup of legal news, headlines, and head-shaking moments in the courts.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg made an appearance at the Sundance Film Festival where she shared her thoughts on the #MeToo movement while promoting a new documentary about her life.

Meanwhile, her fellow Justice Neil Gorsuch had dinner with some Senate Republicans and members of the Trump cabinet to discuss important matters of the day. The justices usually avoid consorting with members of the government’s other branches. But who cares about the appearance of bias, amirite?

Legal advocacy groups filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the cash bail system in Dallas County, Texas.

The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments in a lawsuit brought by the Satanic Temple challenging the state’s 72-hour waiting period and informed consent provisions on the grounds that they violate a member’s religious beliefs. No decision has been issued yet.

Also in Missouri, a federal district court dismissed a claim that a business refused to hire a man because he was gay. The decision helps solidify a split in the federal courts regarding whether discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation qualifies as sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. That means the Gorsuch Court is eventually going to have to weigh in and settle the dispute. Super.

A married same-sex couple living in London has sued the U.S. State Department after it determined only one of their two sons is a U.S. citizen. According to the complaint, the couple—a U.S. citizen and her Italian national spouse—each conceived and carried to term during their marriage. But, according to the State Department, only the child birthed by the U.S. citizen is eligible for citizenship; the other child won’t be considered for citizenship and was born “out of wedlock.”

A federal judge in New York dismissed a case claiming President Trump was unlawfully profiting off his White House position, but a similar case brought by the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland is poised to move ahead.

Two Planned Parenthood reproductive health-care centers in Arkansas have asked a federal court to once again block anti-choice lawmakers’ efforts to cut off funding for the clinics.

North Carolina Republicans love gerrymandering so much they are trying to rig the state’s courts by gerrymandering judicial maps to elect more Republican judges, whom lawmakers believe will be more sympathetic to their conservative agenda. And they’re not even trying to hide it.

In light of the #MeToo movement, this HuffPost piece looks at the impact mandatory arbitration agreements have on workplace sexual harassment claims.