Mourners gather at US Supreme Court

Amid a procession of hundreds of masked mourners observing social distancing as they filed past her flag-draped casket, the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was honored Wednesday on the steps of the Supreme Court, where she served for 27 years as the high court's leading liberal voice and only its second woman.

Ginsburg, who died of cancer Friday at age 87, was celebrated by family, friends and all eight current or former fellow justices in a private ceremony inside the building before the public viewing.

Her popularity prompted officials to set aside two days for public viewing, rather than the one day allowed for other justices, said Barbara Perry, the director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia's Miller Center.

"She became a pop icon in the last decade," Perry said.

On Friday, Ginsburg will become the first woman to lie in state in the US Capitol. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, that ceremony will be limited to invited guests only.

"It has been said that Ruth wanted to be an opera virtuoso but became a rock star instead," said Chief Justice John Roberts at the private ceremony Wednesday. "She found her stage right behind me in our courtroom. … But she chose the law. Subjected to discrimination in law school and the job market because she was a woman."

During her years as a Supreme Court justice, Ginsburg was best known for championing the rights of women, minorities and the LGBT community.

"Her voice in court and in our conference room was soft. But when she spoke, people listened," Roberts said.

Roberts spoke of Ginsburg's friendship with conservative fellow justice Antonin Scalia, who died in 2016, and reminisced about them riding an elephant together in India.

"In the photograph, she's riding with a dear friend — a friend with totally divergent views," Roberts said. "There's no indication in the photo that either was poised to push the other off."

The only other speaker at the private ceremony was Rabbi Lauren Holtzblatt, whose husband, Ari Holtzblatt, once served as one of Ginsburg's 159 clerks over the past 40 years.

The rabbi eulogized Ginsburg as a "a path-marking role model to women and girls of all ages" who had left a lasting legacy for generations of women and whose life's work was to "insist that the Constitution deliver on its promise — that 'We the people' would include all the people."

Dignitaries from both parties climbed the steps of the Supreme Court on Wednesday to pay their respects, including former president Bill Clinton, who nominated Ginsburg to the high court, and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

"With the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, America has lost one of the most extraordinary justices ever to serve on the Supreme Court," said a statement issued by the ex-president's office. "She was a magnificent judge and a wonderful person — a brilliant lawyer with a caring heart, common sense, fierce devotion to fairness and equality, and boundless courage in the face of her own adversity."

"It was a very moving experience," said Senator Susan Collins of Maine, one of only two Senate Republicans to oppose the push to name a new justice before Election Day.

"Although I obviously didn't agree with all of her decisions, I admired her principled approach to every issue. This loss is personal as well as professional."

Ginsburg's courtroom chair and the bench in front of it were draped with black wool crepe to mark the occasion, a tradition that dates back at least to 1873. A black drape also hung over the courtroom doors.

"On a personal level, she was such an amazing person. She had a mind like a steel trap," said Jill Alexander, 59, whose husband served as a clerk for Ginsburg when she was an appeals court judge.

A second day of the public viewing begins Thursday at 9 am and runs until 10 pm. A private interment service is planned for next week at Arlington National Cemetery, where Ginsburg's husband, Martin Ginsburg, was buried in 2010.

President Donald Trump said he would name a woman nominee to replace Ginsburg on Saturday. Senate Republicans said they could hold confirmation hearings as soon as next month and hold a vote before the Nov 3 election.

If successful, that effort would produce a 6-3 conservative majority on the court.

Reuters contributed to this story.