Supreme court justice dozed off during Obama’s address in January – and admits she may have over-indulged during dinner

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

US supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg admitted that her traditional State of the Union nap may have been induced by a glass or two of wine.

At a talk in Washington DC with her friend and fellow justice Antonin Scalia on Thursday night, Ginsburg said she had not been “100% sober” during President Obama’s address in January.

“The audience for the most part is awake, because they are bobbing up and down all the time and we sit there, stone-faced, sober justices, “ said Ginsburg. “But we’re not – at least I wasn’t – 100% sober.”

She said the culprit was a fine wine Justice Anthony Kennedy brought to dinner before the speech.

“I vowed this year just sparkling water, stay away from the wine, but the dinner was so delicious it needed wine,” said Ginsburg, who had a front-row seat for Obama’s speech.

Her comment, at an event hosted by the Smithsonian Associates and moderated by NPR’s Nina Totenberg, confirmed speculation about whether the justice dozed off during Obama’s speech – as she has done before.

This year, the justices sitting on either side of her – Kennedy and Stephen Breyer – were seen nudging their colleague in an attempt to keep her awake. Breyer, who is on the lefter side of the bench with Ginsburg, nudged her at least eight times during the ceremony, according to the Washington Post.

Kennedy and Breyer reportedly tried to keep her awake during the 2013 State of the Union. Ginsburg has said the two justices are “not as effective” at keeping her awake as former justice David Souter – “at the first sign, he’d give me a solid pinch”, she said in 2010.

Three justices did not attend this year’s State of the Union – Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Scalia. In 2013, Scalia called the event a “childish spectacle”.