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Key Facts
- Federal level: The ABA Medal is presented at the Annual Meeting to a member of the bench or bar who has rendered conspicuous service in the cause of American jurisprudence.
- Federal level: The ABA Medal recipient for 2010 was Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
- Federal level: The September 2010 ABA Washington Letter reported that highlights of the ABA Annual Meeting included the presentation of the ABA Medal to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
- Federal level: The September 2010 ABA Washington Letter also described the House of Delegates meeting as occurring during an Aug. 9 to 10 meeting and referenced the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
- Federal level: Federal Judicial Center records state that Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on September 18, 2020, and that her Supreme Court service terminated due to death on that date.
- Federal level: The Supreme Court’s official directory lists Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court service termination date as September 18, 2020.
- Federal level: An ABA memorial post states that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday, September 18, 2020, at age 87.
Archive recovery what the 2010 ABA Medal record shows
Archive items about professional awards often raise a basic question for readers: what exactly did the award recognize in that specific year, and what official sources document the recipient and event? This recovery piece focuses on one concrete record from 2010: the ABA Medal and its connection to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
- Archive recovery what the 2010 ABA Medal record shows
- What the ABA Medal recognizes
- The verified fact that Ginsburg received the 2010 ABA Medal
- Contemporaneous ABA reporting of the Annual Meeting highlights
- Why the award mattered in the 2010 context
- Present day context check using federal official sources
- A compact map of which sources prove which parts of the archive record
- Common confusion in award archive reading
- Archive takeaway
- Sources
What the ABA Medal recognizes
The American Bar Association describes the ABA Medal as an award presented at the Annual Meeting to a member of the bench or bar who has rendered “conspicuous service in the cause of American jurisprudence.” That description matters for historical reading because it explains the award’s purpose in general terms rather than treating it as a court ruling or legal authority.
The verified fact that Ginsburg received the 2010 ABA Medal
ABA’s recipient listing identifies Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the 2010 ABA Medal recipient. In the same ABA program description, the ABA links the medal to the Annual Meeting and to the “conspicuous service” standard, which frames the 2010 selection as a professional honor rather than a legal proceeding.
Contemporaneous ABA reporting of the Annual Meeting highlights
An ABA publication for September 2010 reported that highlights of the ABA Annual Meeting included the presentation of the ABA Medal to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The same publication situates the award within broader Annual Meeting coverage by describing the House of Delegates meeting as occurring during an Aug. 9 to 10 meeting and by referencing the Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
Why the award mattered in the 2010 context
In historical terms, the ABA Medal’s purpose helps readers interpret why this recipient selection appeared in ABA meeting highlights. Because the medal is tied to “conspicuous service in the cause of American jurisprudence,” the ABA framed the Justice’s recognition using the award’s stated jurisprudence-focused standard. In other words, the 2010 record documents an institutional professional acknowledgement by the organized bar, not an update to substantive federal law.
Present day context check using federal official sources
Justice Ginsburg’s biographical dates provide modern context for readers encountering the 2010 award record long after her Supreme Court service ended. The Federal Judicial Center states that she died on September 18, 2020, and that her Supreme Court service terminated on September 18, 2020 due to death. The Supreme Court’s official directory also lists her service termination date as September 18, 2020. An ABA memorial post adds that she died on Friday, September 18, 2020, at age 87.
A compact map of which sources prove which parts of the archive record
The sources used here fall into two categories: ABA’s award description and recipient reporting, and federal official biographical directories.
| Source type | What it supports in this article |
|---|---|
| ABA award program and recipient list | What the ABA Medal recognizes and that Ginsburg was the 2010 recipient |
| September 2010 ABA Annual Meeting highlights | That ABA reported the medal presentation to Justice Ginsburg as part of the 2010 meeting highlights |
| Federal official biographical sources | Ginsburg’s Supreme Court service termination date and death date for modern context |
This separation helps avoid a common archive reading error: treating an award announcement as a substitute for official court service records.
Common confusion in award archive reading
A frequent source of confusion comes from mixing (1) general “award program” language that may appear on an ABA webpage for multiple years with (2) what was actually reported for the year being recovered. This archive recovery relies on the ABA sources that directly identify the 2010 recipient and the September 2010 meeting highlights, and it uses federal official directories to confirm the biographical dates used for present-day context.
Archive takeaway
Taken together, ABA’s program description and recipient listing identify Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the 2010 ABA Medal recipient, and the September 2010 ABA Washington Letter reports that the medal presentation was one of the Annual Meeting highlights in San Francisco. Another archive example about an ABA Medal recipient appears in Jerome J. Shestack received the 2006 ABA Medal.
