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Amy Coney Barrett And The Possible Future Of The Supreme Court

A U.S. flag flies outside the U.S. Supreme Court where Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lie in repose September 24, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
A U.S. flag flies outside the U.S. Supreme Court where Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lie in repose September 24, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

President Trump is moving swiftly to replace Justice Ginsburg. We take a close look at how his nominee Amy Coney Barrett will push the court rightward and what it means for the future of the country.

Guests

Amy Howe, co-founder and former editor for SCOTUSblog, a blog devoted to coverage of the Supreme Court. She now blogs at “ Howe on the Court.” ( @AHoweBlogger)

Kate Shaw, professor of law at Yeshiva University’s Cardozo School of Law. Supreme Court contributor for ABC News. ( @kateashaw1)

Jonathan Adler, professor of law and director of the Coleman P. Burke Center for Environmental Law at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law, where he teaches courses in environmental, administrative and constitutional law. Founding member of Checks and Balances, a group of concerned conservative and libertarian lawyers. ( @jadler1969)

Thomas Csordas, professor of anthropology and comparative religion at the University of California, San Diego. Author of “ Language, Charisma, and Creativity: The Ritual Life of a Religious Movement,” which focuses in part on the People of Praise, the religious group that Barrett belongs to.

From The Reading List

SCOTUSblog: “ Trump nominates Barrett to Supreme Court” — “Shortly after he appointed then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court created by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, President Donald Trump reportedly told his advisors that he was “saving” Judge Amy Coney Barrett, another of the finalists for the Kennedy slot, in case Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg stepped down from the bench.”

Associated Press: “ A look at Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s notable opinions, votes” — “Judge Amy Coney Barrett, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, has been on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals since 2017.”

New York Times:To Conservatives, Barrett Has ‘Perfect Combination’ of Attributes for Supreme Court” — “Two years ago, after nominating Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, President Trump strongly hinted that his choice for the next opening would be a former law professor he had named to a federal appeals court the year before: Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Now, three years into that job, Judge Barrett is regarded — at least for now — as the leading contender to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Friday. If Judge Barrett were nominated and confirmed, she would be the sitting justice with the least courtroom experience, but one viewed as a home run by conservative Christians and anti-abortion activists.”

New Yorker: How Trump’s Supreme Court Maneuver Could Dangerously Increase the Powers of the President” — “With Senator Mitt Romney’s announcement that he supports moving forward with the confirmation of a new Supreme Court Justice, Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell have secured the Republican votes they need to begin the process of filling the seat of the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Trump and McConnell now stand poised to create a conservative majority on the Court that could last decades.”

CBS News: Democrats eye expanding Supreme Court if Trump’s nominee is confirmed” — “Democrats are fuming over the decision by Senate Republicans to move forward on a vote to confirm President Trump’s yet-to-be-named nominee to the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy left by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, four years after GOP leaders refused to hold a vote on a Democratic president’s nominee during an election year.”

Wall Street Journal: Trump’s Supreme Court List: Potential Candidates Being Considered by the President” — “More than a week before Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Friday, President Trump unveiled a new list of 20 potential Supreme Court nominees, adding to the 21 names he had released in 2016 and 2017. The list includes not only judges on the federal appellate courts — the source from which high court nominees in recent years have most commonly been chosen — but several senators, a state attorney general, an ambassador, a White House lawyer and two former solicitors general, none of whom has served as a judge.”

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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