New Supreme Court Justice: Amy Coney Barrett

Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed to the Supreme Court Monday, October 26 by a 52-48 vote in the senate 30 days before the upcoming election. Barrett was born January 28th, 1972 and is a mother to seven children, two of which are adopted. Having Barrett on the court, shifts the balance on the court to 6-3 in favor of the Republican party. 

“It was unfair of the senate Republicans to deny Obama a confirmation in 2016 when he was significantly further away from the election than Donald Trump was,” Senior Katrina Morris said.

Having Barrett added to court a week before the election is extremely controversial. On

March 16, 2016 Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland to fill a vacant lot on the Supreme Court but Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, declared that the Supreme Court Justice should be chosen by the next president elected that year. 

“One of my proudest moments was when I looked Barack Obama in the eye and I said, ‘Mr. President, you will not fill the Supreme Court vacancy.’,” McConell said according to NPR. 

Garland was not put on the Supreme Court due to the majority Republican senate at the time. Now with a week before the election, the majority Republican senate is trying their hardest to put Barrett on the courts before the election. To some this seems unethical due to their previous stance on Merrick Garland. 

“Additionally, this may have been an unwise decision because if Biden wins, it seems likely he will pack the courts so the scales will be in favor of Democrats instead of Republicans. That would also be bad because if America goes down that road, the Supreme Court’s seats and therefore its decisions may lose control,” Morris said.

One way to combat the majority of Republicans on the court is court packing. Since 1869, the Supreme Court has had nine Justices, but there is nothing in the constitution that declares that there has to be a certain number of Justices. Some people fear that if Biden is elected he will pack the courts. Packing the courts could give the Democrats an unfair advantage and break long standing tradition. When Biden is asked about stacking the courts, he refuses to give a clear answer. 

“Whatever the position I take on that, that will become the issue,”  Biden said according to the Washington Post.