Claiming that the Supreme Court “is not made up of a bunch of partisan pirates,” Amy Coney Barrett told a hearing in downtown Kentucky that led to Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell that “judicial philosophies are not the same as political parties “.
Speaking alongside McConnell a little over a week after she and four other court conservatives declined to block a Texas law that prohibits abortion in the state, except that it prohibits abortion in the state, the Catholic devotee also insisted that the court does not try cases based on personal beliefs.
Judges need to be “hyper-vigilant to make sure they don’t let personal prejudice get in the way of their decisions,” Barrett said, “because judges are people too.”
Critics say the “shadow house” ruling in the Texas case has effectively overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that protects abortion rights. The term “shadow record” refers to emergency resolutions issued without routine procedures, including oral arguments.
Barrett spoke Sunday at the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville, a venue created by the Republican leader in the Senate and designated for him.
In 2016, McConnell blocked Barack Obama’s final election to court, Merrick Garland, alleging he was too close to the election and that the next president should decide.
Between 2017 and 2020, McConnell quickly tracked three selections made by Donald Trump. Barrett was the last, instead of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a heroine for American liberals, shortly before the election that Trump lost.
McConnell, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported, praised Barrett for not trying to “legislate from the bench” and for being “Middle American.” Barrett is from Indiana and, unlike the other eight magistrates, did not attend Harvard or Yale.
Barrett said, “My goal today is to convince you that this court is not made up of a bunch of partisan pirates.”
The event was picketed by protesters who supported abortion rights. One told the Louisville Courier Journal, “With what’s happening in Texas, I don’t want it to spread to Kentucky … And so we come to let Mitch know how many citizens feel about this issue.”
Echoing recent comments from Stephen Breyer, a Liberal, about court and politics, Barrett said: “To say that the court’s reasoning is flawed is different from saying that the court acts in a partisan way. I think we should ‘evaluate what the court does according to its own conditions’.
Breyer, the court’s oldest judge at 83, is being pressured by the Liberals to step down, so Joe Biden and Senate-held Democrats in a decisive vote for Vice President Kamala Harris can confirm a long-term replacement.
Barrett’s appointment to replace Ginsburg tipped the court 6-3 in favor of the Conservatives. Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the Liberals in opposing the ruling that allowed Texas law to be upheld.
Among observers, Barrett’s statements met with widespread skepticism.
Veteran television newscaster Dan Rather dit on Twitter: “Apparently, we’re playing the“ Things You Can’t Invent ”game this morning, so Supreme Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett (speaking at a center named after Mitch McConnell, introduced by Senator McConnell ), worries that the court will be seen as “a bunch of partisan pirates.”
Scott Shapiro, a law professor at Yale, dit Barrett had “expressed on Sunday his concern over the death of irony.”
Sheldon Whitehouse, Democratic Senator from Rhode Island, he wrote: “Not ‘partisan hacks’? Then explain the 5-0 80-0 partial record for large donors. And explain the conservative principles judicially to achieve these victories for the donors who put you in the field.”
Many liberals say Barrett, guided by his religious beliefs, wants to ban abortion.
The new Texas law offers economic benefits to private citizens who report abortion. The Biden administration has sued, calling the law “clearly unconstitutional.”
Garland, now U.S. Attorney General, has said the law is “that all Americans should fear.”
In Louisville, Barrett answered written questions.
Asked about the decision to enact Texas law that offers financial rewards to private citizens who report abortions, she said it would not be inappropriate to comment.