After the unfortunate passing of Supreme Court Judge Ruth Bader Ginsberg on 18th September 2020 (1), the President of the United States now looks to fill the position nominating Amy Coney Barrett despite much debate. Without getting too deep into the process of replacement, what do Amy Coney Barret’s achievements look like and what does she stand for?
Barrett began her learning at Rhodes College, Tennessee. Studying English literature and graduating with a Bachelor of Arts with a great distinction in 1994 (2). Following this, she began study at Notre Dame Law School, graduating in 1997 top of her class earning the Colonel William J. Hoynes Prize (an award to the member of the graduating law class who has the best record in scholarship, application, deportment, and achievement) (3) and with the highest distinction (4).
After completing her studies in Law, Amy Coney Barrett spent ’97 to ’98 working for Judge Laurence Silberman of the U.S Court of Appeals for the D.C Circuit, then from ’98 to ’99 working for Justice Antonin Scalia of the U. S Supreme Court. While between the years ’99 to ’02 Barrett practiced law in Washington D.C, working on the Bush V. Gore lawsuit which rose from the 2000 elections, providing briefing assistance and research (5/6).
In 2002, Amy Barrett returned to the Notre Dame Law School as an assistant professor and eventually became a faculty member known for her expertise on federal courts, constitutional law and statutory interpretation, earning Distinguished Professor of the Year, and held the Diane and M.O. Miller Research Chair of Law from 2014–17. (7/8)
Prior to her nomination by President Donald Trump to the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett has been serving on the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit which she was also nominated by President Trump for back in 2017. Some noteworthy cases during this time include, Price v. City of Chicago (2019), in which it was brought up on the topic of abortion clinics that, “one can, without consent, approach a person within the ‘bubble zone’ to solicit donations for a charity, sell Cubs tickets, campaign for a candidate, or panhandle” but they may not approach to educate or counsel regarding abortion.” (9) where Barrett was a part of the unanimous decision upholding the ordinance.
Another is a Second Amendment case, Kanter v. Barr. In which the Plaintiff was convicted of mail fraud, and as a convicted felon was unable to purchase firearms. While the majority upheld the decision, Barrett argued that, “felons are not stripped of their right to bear arms based solely on their status as felons, rather the government has a legitimate interest in denying gun possession to felons convicted of violent crimes.” (10).
Escaping politics, Judge Amy Coney Barrett is a mother to seven children, one of which suffers from Down syndrome and two which were adopted from Haiti (one adoption in ’05 and the other in ’10). She is also a devout Catholic, which has been a cause for concern for some who worry that she may impose her religion onto others as a Supreme Judge. Although Barrett has covered this saying, “If confirmed, I would not assume that role for the sake of those in my own circle, and certainly not for my own sake. I would assume this role to serve you. I would discharge the judicial oath, which requires me to administer justice without respect to persons, do equal right to the poor and rich, and faithfully and impartially discharge my duties under the United States Constitution.” (11).
The senate will begin confirmation hearings for Amy Coney Barrett on October 12th and are expected to last four days, from opening statements to questions and testimony from outside witnesses (12).
-Trent Naz
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(1) Encyclopedia Britannica. 2020. Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Biography & Facts. [online] Available at: <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ruth-Bader-Ginsburg> [Accessed 28 September 2020].
(2) Biography.com Editors, 2020. Amy Coney Barrett Biography. [online] Biography.com. Available at: <https://www.biography.com/law-figure/amy-coney-barrett> [Accessed 28 September 2020].
(3) NDLScholarship. 2020. Colonel William J. Hoynes Award, The. [online] Available at: <https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/ndls_student_awards/18/> [Accessed 29 September 2020].
(4) Biography.com Editors, 2020. Amy Coney Barrett Biography. [online] Biography.com. Available at: <https://www.biography.com/law-figure/amy-coney-barrett> [Accessed 28 September 2020].
(5) Dame, M., 2020. Amy — Barrett. [online] University of Notre Dame — The Law School. Available at: <https://law.nd.edu/directory/amy-barrett/> [Accessed 29 September 2020].
(6) Biography.com Editors, 2020. Amy Coney Barrett Biography. [online] Biography.com. Available at: <https://www.biography.com/law-figure/amy-coney-barrett> [Accessed 28 September 2020].
(7) Biography.com Editors, 2020. Amy Coney Barrett Biography. [online] Biography.com. Available at: <https://www.biography.com/law-figure/amy-coney-barrett> [Accessed 28 September 2020].
(8) Dame, M., 2020. Amy — Barrett. [online] University of Notre Dame — The Law School. Available at: <https://law.nd.edu/directory/amy-barrett/> [Accessed 29 September 2020].
(9) Barnes, R., 2020. Supreme Court Leaves In Place Laws In Chicago, Pennsylvania That Restrict Antiabortion Protesters. [online] https://www.washingtonpost.com. Available at: <https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/supreme-court-leaves-in-place-laws-in-chicago-pennsylvania-that-restrict-antiabortion-protesters/2020/07/02/ad3dab62-bc7c-11ea-80b9-40ece9a701dc_story.html> [Accessed 29 September 2020].
(10) Ballotpedia. 2020. Amy Coney Barrett — Ballotpedia. [online] Available at: <https://ballotpedia.org/Amy_Coney_Barrett> [Accessed 29 September 2020].
(11) The White House. 2020. Remarks By President Trump Announcing His Nominee For Associate Justice Of The Supreme Court Of The United States. [online] Available at: <https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-announcing-nominee-associate-justice-supreme-court-united-states/> [Accessed 29 September 2020].
(12) Walsh, D., 2020. Senate Judiciary Panel To Start Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings On Oct. 12. [online] Npr.org. Available at: <https://www.npr.org/sections/supreme-court-nomination/2020/09/26/917309036/senate-judiciary-panel-to-start-barrett-confirmation-hearings-on-oct-12> [Accessed 29 September 2020].
