Ruth Bader Ginsburg Admits That Wine Made Her Fall Asleep During State Of The Union

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has revealed why she was falling asleep during January’s State of the Union Address.

According to a report from the Blaze, Ginsburg revealed to an audience at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. that she had some wine during a dinner with the other justices. Prior to the dinner, Ginsburg said she told herself that she would not have wine this year. But that changed when Justice Anthony Kennedy brought in a bottle.

“It was an Opus something or other, very fine California wine, and I vowed this year, just sparkling water, stay away from the wine. But in the end, the dinner was so delicious, it needed wine.”

And as it turned out, the wine might have caused Ruth Bader Ginsburg to nod off during President Obama’s speech.

“The audience for the most part is awake, because they’re bobbing up and down, and we sit there, stone-faced, sober judges. But we’re not, at least I wasn’t, 100 percent sober.”

“Serves you right, I say!”

But Scalia did crack a joke to Ginsburg about her decision to have wine before the speech.

“That’s the first intelligent thing you’ve done.”

And while it did make Ruth Bader Ginsburg fall asleep, ABC News is reporting that the staff at Opus One Winery in Oakville, California, was thrilled to hear about their wine being served to justices before the State of the Union address. That’s what Christopher Barefoot, the winery’s vice president of public relations, said when he found out one of their bottles was served at the dinner.

“We were delighted to learn we were included in such an important meal. It’s a great feeling.”

But Barefoot is certain that Ruth Bader Ginsburg is not the first famous person to approve of his company’s wine, he added.

“I’m sure we’ve been served at many, many, many, many prominent dinners.”

This is not the first time Ruth Bader Ginsburg has nodded off during a presidential address. As she told the crowd at George Washington University, one of her former colleagues would keep an eye on her to make sure she stayed awake.

“David Souter, when he was on the court, he was on one side and he had an acute sense of when I was about to [nod off]. Now I have Justice Kennedy on one side, Justice Breyer, and they’re sort of timid about it.”

[Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images]