Justice Amy Coney Barrett
Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
Amy Vivian Coney Barrett was born in January 1972 in New Orleans, Louisiana. She earned an undergraduate degree in English literature and French from Rhodes College, and received her Juris Doctor from the Notre Dame Law School. She spent two years as a law clerk, first at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and then for Justice Antonin Scalia of the U.S. Supreme Court. She entered the private practice of law.
She was a visiting associate professor at George Washington University Law School and a professor at Notre Dame Law School. Later she was a visiting professor at the University of Virginia School of Law. She was appointed by Chief Justice John Roberts to serve on the Advisory Committee for the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure.
She was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, a position she held for three years. President Trump later appointed her to serve as an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court. She was confirmed by the Senate and took her seat on the high court bench in October 2020.
She is married to Jesse M. Barrett and they have seven children. The family is Catholic.
In the News…
In a 7-2 ruling, the Supreme Court found the Environmental Protection Agency need not disclose what proved to be the “last word” about how a proposed policy might harm endangered species.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote the majority ruling in a case that was her first oral argument upon confirmation to the bench last year, and her first written opinion.
“The deliberative process privilege protects the draft biological opinions from disclosure because they reflect a preliminary view—not a final decision,” Justice Barrett wrote.
“The administrative context confirms that the draft opinions were subject to change and had no direct legal consequences,” she wrote. “Because the decision makers neither approved the drafts nor sent them to the EPA, they are best described not as draft biological opinions but as drafts of draft biological opinions. While the drafts may have had the practical effect of provoking EPA to revise its rule, the privilege applies because the Services did not treat the drafts as final.”
The challenge was brought due to a request from the Sierra Club and other groups for draft biological opinions on power plant cooling mechanisms which frequently suck up fish and wildlife during the intake of lake, river, or ocean water.
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Justice Barrett today? You can let her know at:
The Honorable Justice Amy Coney Barrett
Supreme Court of the United States
1 First Street NE
Washington, DC 20543
