US Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies at 87

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who has died aged 87 (J Scott Applewhite/AP)

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday at her home in Washington aged 87, setting off a likely intense debate over the appointment of her replacement.

A diminutive yet towering women’s rights champion who became the court’s second female justice, Ms Ginsburg died of complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer, the court said.