SWORN TO JUSTICE
President Trump appoints Judge Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court
Photo by Abigail Parker
Jessica Golden | Staff Reporter
After President Trump appointed Barrett, she attended her cofirmation hearings in the Senate.
T
he Senate confirmed Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court on Oct. 26, 2020. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas administered the constitutional oath to Barrett after the senate voted 52 to 48 but she has yet to take the judicial oath, which states that the justice will administer justice regardless of physical appearance or status. President Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on Sept.
26, following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Sept. 18, 2020 at the age of 87. Barrett graduated from Rhodes College and attended law school at Notre Dame. After college, she clerked for late Justice Antonio Scalia before her career as a professor and went on to teach law at Notre Dame for 15 years. Barrett was confirmed as a federal Judge in 2017 after a bipartisan vote by the Senate. Barrett is a devout Catholic, according to NPR, and is
therefore especially favored by religious conservatives. Barrett is the fifth woman to serve on the Court. The four prior to serve were Sandra Day O’Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor. Ginsburg, widely-recognized as a feminist who fought for women’s rights, died due to complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer. Barrett is the youngest justice on the current Supreme Court at 48 years old. This will allow her to serve for several decades.
On October 13, questioning began for Barrett and each of the 22 senators on the judiciary committee had 30 minutes to question Barrett, who avoided answering questions about issues that could be possible court cases. “Though past nominees have also avoided answering some of the senators’ questions, Barrett took this to a whole new level,” Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science Paul M. Collins Jr. said. Barrett was asked to recite the five freedoms of the first amendment and was only able to state four. Democrats are concerned about how Barrett will vote on topics such as abortion, healthcare protections, LGBTQ rights and voting rights, according to The New York Times. “If confirmed [as a United States Supreme Court Justice], I would not assume that role for the sake of those in my own circle and certainly not for my own sake,” Barrett said. “I would assume this role to serve you.”
Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies at age 87
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uth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman appointed to the Supreme Court, passed away Friday Sept. 18 due to complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer. She was 87 years old. Ginsburg’s time in the Supreme Court started with her junior justice seat in 1993 and over the years she worked up to her last title, associate justice. For many years Ginsburg was the only female justice in the Supreme Court until she was later joined by
Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Ginsburg was considered part of the Supreme Court’s moderate-liberal bloc and was best known as a “pioneering advocate for women’s rights,” according to “The New York Times.” Her most mentioned cases were United States v. Virginia where she wrote the Supreme Court’s landmark decision and her differing opinion on Bush v. Gore which decided the 2000 presidential election.
6 THE SHIELD • OCTOBER 2020
G i n s b u r g ’s fought cancer previously, in 1999 and 2009, but she never missed a day of oral arguments. “My mother told me to be a lady,” Ginsburg once said. “And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent.”
Photo courtesy of WFU Law School
Elena Vincenty | Staff Reporter
Associate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg visits Wake Forest University.
