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Amy Coney Barrett on Principles & Values
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Neutral laws may impact religious groups
Barrett's opinion, which Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined, is slightly to the left of Gorsuch's view. Though Barrett agrees with Gorsuch that "if a chorister can sing in a Hollywood studio but not in her church, California's regulations cannot be viewed
as neutral," she concedes that the "record is uncertain" regarding what rules apply to film studios. Significantly, Barrett's opinion also suggests that she does not want to tear down completely the
distinction between cases involving religious discrimination and cases involving universally applicable laws. "It remains unclear whether the singing ban applies across the board
(and thus constitutes a neutral and generally applicable law) or else favors certain sectors (and thus triggers more searching review)," Barrett writes.
Source: Vox.com on 2021 SCOTUS "First opinion"
, Feb 6, 2021
Member of the conservative People of Praise faith community
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett's affiliation with the Christian community People of Praise is drawing scrutiny because of what former members and observers describe as its ultraconservative views on women.
The AP has documented extensive ties Barrett and her family have to the community,
including that an old directory listed her as being one of the organization's "handmaids," now called a "woman leader." She was a trustee of the group's
Trinity Schools, and as a young law student, lived in a house owned by one of its co-founders.
Source: Associated Press on 2022 SCOTUS Confirmation Hearing
, Oct 11, 2020
Attended Rhodes College in Memphis Tennessee
Who is this Amy Coney Barrett, this imagined harbinger of a vastly different constitutional future? There are those among us who shared turf and air with her when she was a student at Rhodes College in the early 1990s, including one on Facebook:"I
went to Rhodes with Amy Coney Barrett. We're both in the Class of 1994. I dated one of her sorority sisters. Amy was friendly and personable, just as she is now. Rhodes challenged us to think critically about big issues and wrestle with them, arriving
at enlightened answers after vigorous debate. I'm liberal-minded and a Democrat. I oppose several of the perspectives and conclusions Amy draws on significant legal issues. But she's a really good person."
Barrett's classmate was aware that Barrett
was a serious Catholic and one clearly prone to rely on the elements of her faith. As a student, she was "strictly the academic type" but friendly enough. "We can disagree without tearing others down."
Source: Memphis Flyer interview: Barrett's former Rhodes Classmates
, Sep 30, 2020
Judicial philosophy: apply the law as written
Q: Pres. Trump is nominating Appeals Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court:TRUMP: She is a woman of unparalleled achievement, towering intellect, sterling credentials and unyielding loyalty to the Constitution.
Q: Barrett, a favorite
of the conservative establishment, is a practicing Catholic, graduate of Notre Dame, and former clerk for the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
JUDGE AMY CONEY BARRETT: His judicial philosophy is mine too. A judge must apply the law as written.
Source: Fox News Sunday 2020 interview of Labor Secretary Scalia
, Sep 27, 2020
States cannot sue each other over eased voting rules.
Justice Barrett wrote the concurrence on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton: "TX v. PA, GA, MI & WI" on Dec 11, 2020:
Summary of lawsuit, Dec. 7:: The 2020 election suffered from significant and unconstitutional irregularities including:
- Michigan's Secretary of State, without legislative approval, unilaterally abrogated [under the pandemic emergency] several statutes requiring signature verification for absentee ballot applications. [Similar in GA, PA, & WI].
- Pennsylvania's election law requires that poll-watchers be granted access to the opening, counting, and recording of absentee ballots: Local election officials [in 2 counties] decided not to follow this law.
- Georgia state law prohibits the opening of absentee ballots until after the polls open on Election Day: In April 2020, without legislative approval, [a new rule] authorized processing absentee ballots three weeks before Election Day.
- The Wisconsin Elections Commission positioned hundreds of drop boxes to collect absentee ballots--including the use of unmanned drop boxes, in contravention of Wisconsin law.
Supreme Court Order, Dec. 11: The State of Texas's motion is denied for lack of standing under Article III of the Constitution. Texas has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another State conducts its elections. All other pending motions are dismissed as moot.
Texas Tribune analysis, Dec. 11:: Trump--and Republicans across the country--had pinned their hopes on the Texas suit. In a series of tweets, Trump called it "the big one" and later added, "it is very strong, ALL CRITERIA MET." If the court had heard the case, Sen. Ted Cruz said he would have argued it, at the request of Trump.
Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas indicated they would have allowed Texas to bring the case but said they would "not grant other relief." In a series of tweets after the ruling, Trump raged against the decision, which he called "a disgraceful miscarriage of justice."
Source: Supreme Court case 20-SCOTUS argued on Dec 7, 2020
Page last updated: Mar 20, 2022