On Monday, Oct. 26, one week from the Presidential Election, Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed to the Supreme Court. The confirmation of Justice Barret was not only unjust, due to the halt of Obama’s attempted confirmation in 2016, but is also life-threatening to the thousands of American citizens whose rights are up for debate.
Justice Barrett was nominated and pushed through by an impeached president who lost the popular vote by three million. Her nomination to the Supreme Court is an unethical abomination to democracy.
Justice Barrett took the judicial oath on Tuesday in a private ceremony, making her an active member of the Supreme Court. President Trump has said he will most likely host an event in honor of Justice Barrett’s confirmation but refuses to comment on the number of guests attending despite occurring in the middle of a third spike of the pandemic and after he’s already tested positive for COVID-19.
Democrats, who voted unanimously against the confirmation, were joined by lone Republican Susan Collins from Maine. With a 6-3 right-leaning majority in the Supreme Court after Justice Barrett’s confirmation, marriage equality, reproductive rights, and the Affordable Care Act are all on the chopping block. Kate Shaw, a professor from Cardozo School of Law, says we are looking at “the most conservative court in 100 years.”
Justice Barrett votes uniformly with conservatives on issues such as gun rights, abortion, and immigration. Her views tend to align with those of her late mentor, Justice Antonin Scalia, and are often even more conservative or originalist than his.
Justice Scalia died in February 2016. When Obama attempted to fill Judge Scalia’s spot, he was denied on the grounds of it being an election year.
This historical moment during the Obama administration has brought a level of controversy to this issue since Justice Barrett was nominated much closer to the election and during an election where many more voted early than in previous years.
As Kamala Harris said during the vice presidential debate, “let the people fill that seat in the White House.” It was unjust to appoint and confirm Amy Coney Barrett this close to an election. In 2016, Republican senators opposed Obama’s appointment of Merrick Garland and that was 270 days before the election that year.
Nominated just 35 days before the election and after actively opposing an election-year nomination during the Obama administration, Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham have nothing but praise and encouragement for Justice Barett.
A jaw-dropping and downright appalling moment from Justice Barrettís confirmation hearings was when Lindsey Graham referred to the time period of segregation in our country as ìthe good old daysî and she did not contest this statement in the slightest. I was disgusted to hear elected officials of the United States government using the word good to describe such a horrendously unjust and unethical moment of American history. In response to this, Barrett did not contest Senator Graham’s language in the slightest.
Appointing Amy Coney Barrett to the supreme court is unjust due to the timing of the appointment, the history of appointing judges this close to an election, and her unwillingness to speak out in the face of injustice. Justice Barrett is the wrong person for this position.
