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 on 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 Barrett and they have seven children. The family is Catholic.
In the News…
The U.S. Supreme Court released decisions in two cases regarding public officials blocking individuals who left negative comments on social media. The lawsuits involved Southern California school board members and a Port Huron, Michigan, city manager. The court ruled that, under certain circumstances, public officials can be sued for restricting the First Amendment rights of commenters.
However, “State officials have private lives and their own constitutional rights,” Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote in the decision. “When a government official posts about job-related topics on social media, it can be difficult to tell whether the speech is official or private.”
“The threshold inquiry to establish state action is not whether making official announcements could fit within a job description but whether making such announcements is actually part of the job that the State entrusted the official to do,“ the decision continued. “For social-media activity to constitute state action, an official must not only have state authority, he must also purport to use it.“
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
