Amy Coney Barrett
It goes without saying, but get ready for the fraught confirmation hearing of United States Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. It is scheduled to begin Monday. With that in mind, take a look at her newly released opening statement for the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“Courts have a vital responsibility to enforce the rule of law, which is critical to a free society,” wrote Barrett, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. “But courts are not designed to solve every problem or right every wrong in our public life. The policy decisions and value judgments of government must be made by the political branches elected by and accountable to the People. The public should not expect courts to do so, and courts should not try.”
Democrats will likely scrutinize Barrett for her attitudes on abortion, especially after it was reported she omitted from a Senate questionnaire her involvement in anti-abortion politics.
Republicans command a definite 53-47 majority in the Senate. If confirmed, Barrett would replace late liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and increase the court’s conservative lean from 5-4 to 6-3. This happens at a tense moment, less than a month before the 2016 presidential election. The timing also taps into a sore spot for Democrats, after the Republican-led Senate sandbagged President Barack Obama‘s nomination of D.C. appellate court Judge Merrick Garland in 2016.
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