Courts

Amy Coney Barrett Longs For The Days The Supreme Court Could Ruin Your Life In Obscurity

It's actually good that people see what's going on.

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Senate Holds Confirmation Hearing For Amy Coney Barrett To Be Supreme Court Justice

(Photo by Tom Williams-Pool/Getty Images)

Earlier this week, Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett spoke at a judicial conference for the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Questions at the event were fed by Chief Judge Diane Sykes, so no stumpers in the lot. And, noticeably, Barrett didn’t comment directly about the ethics scandal(s) plaguing the Court.

But included in her remarks were her thoughts about the increased attention the Court has received. As reported by the Associated Press, she fondly recalled that back when she clerked at SCOTUS (for Antonin Scalia in 1998-99), the public didn’t recognize the justices, and visitors to One First Street would cluelessly ask jurists for directions or to snap their picture:

Barrett recalled that before the birth of the internet when she was a law clerk, people routinely visited the Supreme Court and asked justices on the court to take their pictures or for directions because they did not know who they were.

“People just didn’t recognize who the justices were,” Barrett said. “I think that’s better. I don’t think justices should be recognizable in that sense.”

She continued:

“To the extent that it engages people in the work of the court and paying attention to the court and knowing what the courts do and what the Constitution has to say, that’s a positive development,” she said. “To the extent that it gives them misimpressions, that’s a negative development.”

Of course, it’s wildly unfair to characterize the sinking popularity and trust in the Court as a result of “misimpressions.” No, it has way more to do with the way the current composition of the Court is willing to ignore its own precedent to advance right-wing policy goals (wildly out of line with American values) and strip Americans of rights they’ve enjoyed for decades with a bastardized version originalism and sloppy historical analysis. It shouldn’t be shocking that people don’t like it when their rights are taken away by unelected, life-tenured judges in such a slipshod manner.

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Waving it all away as a “misimpression” is a disingenuous way to pretend like the work of the Court is somehow so high-minded and complicated that regular dum-dums just don’t understand the self-important work of SCOTUS. Because we do understand. Insulated from repercussions by those lifetime appointments, members of the conservative majority are willing to use whatever means necessary to advance their vision of the future. And it’s not just us regulars out here suspicious of what the Court is up to — Justice Elena Kagan has been ringing the alarm that the Court has squandered its legitimacy in recent decisions.

Coney Barrett may want to conduct her mission in obscurity, but the disinfecting spotlight is important for folks to understand what’s really going on.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.

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