Scalia slips, refers to Justice ‘Goldberg’

The Supreme Court erupted in laughter Monday morning when Justice Antonin Scalia goofed and referred to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg by the wrong name.

While delivering the decision in the immigration case Kerry v. Din on Monday, Scalia listed the justices who dissented from the opinion and, instead of saying “Ginsburg,” said “Goldberg.”

{mosads}Chief Justice John Roberts leaned over and whispered in his ear, to presumably notify him of the error.

“What did I say?” he asked Roberts, drawing laughter from spectators and members of the press in the courtroom.

After his colleagues told him what he said, Scalia shook his head and apologized to Ginsburg.

“Sorry about that Ruth,” he said.

Scalia was possibly thinking about the late Justice Arthur Goldberg, who was appointed to the bench by President Lyndon B. Johnson and served from 1962 until tapped to be ambassador to the United Nations in 1965. Goldberg died of cardiac arrest from coronary artery disease at age 81 in 1990, The New York Times reported at the time.

Though Scalia, a conservative member of the court appointed by President Reagan, and Ginsburg, a liberal member appointed by President Clinton, often have opposing views, the two are reportedly close friends outside the courtroom.