In February 2006, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg told an audience at the South African Constitutional Court in Pretoria that she and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor had received Internet death threats. An Internet posting said they “will not live another week” because they relied on foreign law in their decisions. The American press missed the story initially. Justice Ginsburg used her speech to explain why the U.S. Supreme Court should reference foreign materials. Her speech's title came from the Declaration of Independence: “A Decent Respect to the Opinions of [H]umankind.” She had a sympathetic audience.

The South African Constitution requires the Constitutional Court to follow binding international law and specifies that the Court may examine relevant foreign law. The Constitutional Court therefore frequently cites U.S. Supreme Court cases, though usually in disagreement. The U.S. Supreme Court also has ties with its South African counterparts. Justice O'Connor authored the foreword to an autobiography by former Constitutional Court Justice Richard Goldstone, For Humanity, Reflections of a War Crimes Investigator. Furthermore, Justice Goldstone is friendly with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.