With just 11 days before the Irish electorate goes to the polls to determine whether or not this Republic will be the first nation on the planet to extend marriage equality to same-sex couples by popular vote, across the pond in the United States of America, the debate is raging in Washington. The nine justices of the US Supreme Court, the highest bench in the land, have just heard oral arguments for and against, and they will soon vote on whether same-sex couples have the right to wed in their home state and – crucially – have that union recognised in all of the other 49, effectively legalising same-sex marriage.

On this evening’s The Right Hook, coming live from Washington DC, George will speak to Buzzfeed’s legal editor Chris Geidner about the landmark ruling, how the vote is anticipated to go, and what message the Yes and No camps back home can take from the American debate.  

Tune in live from 5.30pm, or listen back to the show’s podcasts here.

As the longest serving member of the Supreme Court’s liberal bloc, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s vote in a foregone conclusion, with her performance during the recent arguments in the Washington courtroom making international headlines as the 82-year-old took a hard line with anyone advocating for the no side.

“Marriage today is not what it was under the common law tradition, under the civil law tradition,” she said, when two of the court’s conservative bloc judged asked whether they had a right to challenge centuries of tradition.

“Marriage was a relationship of a dominant male to a subordinate female,” she explained. Just par for the course for the Internet’s favourite Justice, the ‘Notorious RBG’.

The cover page on the biography, Notorious R.B.G.: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg [Tumblr]

No other member of the US Supreme Court has managed to fascinate and intrigue web-dwelling millennials like Ginsburg, whose nickname (a spoof of the late hip-hop rapper Biggie Smalls) has spun off from a Tumblr meme into a web empire, spawning merchandise, book deals, and a firebrand fandom.

As only the second woman to serve on the US Supreme Court, the former Columbia University law professor has long been an advocate of women’s rights. Born into a working-class family in Brooklyn, she graduated top of her law class, often crediting her husband Martin for supporting her career aspirations and helping her start her family.In 1993, after a prolific academic and legal career, she was nominated by then president Bill Clinton for a seat on the bench, becoming the most vocal advocate for liberal change and fiercely arguing against the conservative and male members of the bench.

A small, frail-looking Jewish woman, her public image remained gentle and academic, until social media completely revolutionised her, her name becoming linked with ‘badass’ in search term results almost overnight. A focal point came two years ago, when an NYU law student by the name of Shana Knizhnik created the now ubiquitous Notorious R.B.G. Tumblr, going viral and enchanting liberal-minded Internet users all across the US

The 'Notorious Hug' photo of Justice Ginsburg embracing President Obama became a viral sensation [KYM]

Her scathing opinions read out in the courtroom when the vote goes the opposite direction to her choice are now viral memes, with YouTube song writers turning her rally cry of “I dissent” – without the adverb ‘respectfully’, which has been added by respective judges for centuries – becoming a surprise celebration of the ability of older women in society to stand up for what she believes is morally right.

In a recent interview, Ginsburg revealed that not only is she aware of her Internet celebrity, but that she has a steady supply of ‘Notorious RBG’ t-shirts that she likes to hand out. "I haven't seen anything that isn't either pleasing or funny on that website," she said, much to the delight of her fans. Above all, she hopes her notoriety will inspire a new generation of young women, most of whom were born after she took her place on the bench, to take up the fight for women’s rights. And if her fandom is anything to go by, an army of notorious thugs is ready to take up the call.