Amy Coney Barrett Says She’s Fine with Public Scrutiny of SCOTUS

(LibertySociety.com) – Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) Justice Amy Coney Barrett is no stranger to criticism, as she and Justice Bret Kavanaugh endured an array of political attacks during their confirmation hearings. Both justices were nominated by former President Trump, which undoubtedly increased the level of scrutiny they received from Democratic lawmakers and the media. Activists have also brazenly showed up at both justices’ homes, with one person arrested for planning to kill Kavanaugh. However, Barrett has chosen to look at the positive results that could come from the scrutinization of SCOTUS. In fact, she welcomes it.

Justice Barrett spoke in Wisconsin at a judicial conference for the Seventh Circuit on August 28. While she said she is less than overjoyed about being recognized in public, which she blamed the Internet for, Barrett believes that it is a “positive development” if scrutiny “drives the public to be aware and informed of the judiciary branch and the Constitution.” She said that all judges should get used to being criticized and that her skin has thickened over the last several years. She discussed what it was like having her name in the news headlines every day after she was nominated.

Former President Trump chose Barrett as Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s replacement after she died on September 18, 2020. Barrett was confirmed to SCOTUS on October 26, 2020, just days before the 2020 presidential election. Barrett is a constitutional originalist, which means that she interprets the Constitution based on what it meant at the time that it was written. Since her tenure began, she has faced scrutiny from both sides of the aisle, as she does not always vote in lockstep with her conservative colleagues. She has taken part in some of the most historic opinions in her short time on the Supreme Court, including the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs decision and the West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency opinion in June 2022. In the EPA decision, SCOTUS reined in the authority of federal agencies regarding rule-making that supersedes the powers granted by Congress, setting a historic precedent for future legal battles.