Amy Coney Barrett facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Amy Coney Barrett
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Official portrait, 2021
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| Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | |
| Assumed office October 27, 2020 |
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| Nominated by | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Ruth Bader Ginsburg |
| Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit | |
| In office November 2, 2017 – October 26, 2020 |
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| Nominated by | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | John Daniel Tinder |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Kirsch |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Amy Vivian Coney
January 28, 1972 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Spouse |
Jesse Barrett
(m. 1999) |
| Children | 7 |
| Education | Rhodes College (BA) University of Notre Dame (JD) |
| Signature |  |
Amy Vivian Coney Barrett (born January 28, 1972) is an American lawyer and judge. She serves as an associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. This is the highest court in the U.S. She was nominated by President Donald Trump in 2020.
Justice Barrett is the fifth woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Before joining the Supreme Court, she was a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. She held this position from 2017 to 2020.
She went to Rhodes College and then Notre Dame Law School. After law school, she worked as a law clerk for two important judges. One was Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court. Later, she became a law professor at Notre Dame Law School.
Justice Barrett is known for her belief in textualism and originalism. These are ways of interpreting laws and the Constitution. She is generally seen as a conservative judge.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Amy Vivian Coney was born in 1972 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her parents are Linda and Michael Coney. She is the oldest of seven children. Her father was a lawyer, and her mother was a French teacher. Her family is very religious and Catholic.
Amy grew up in Metairie, Louisiana. She went to St. Mary's Dominican High School, an all-girls Catholic school. She was the student body vice president and graduated in 1990.
After high school, she attended Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. She studied English literature and minored in French. She graduated in 1994 with high honors. She was named the most outstanding English department graduate.
Then, she went to Notre Dame Law School on a full scholarship. She was a top student and graduated first in her class in 1997. She earned her law degree with the highest honors.
Legal Career and Judgeships
After law school, Amy Coney Barrett worked as a law clerk. This means she helped judges with their research and writing. She clerked for Judge Laurence Silberman and then for Justice Antonin Scalia at the U.S. Supreme Court.
From 1999 to 2002, she worked as a lawyer in Washington, D.C. She helped with the legal case related to the 2000 United States presidential election.
In 2002, she became a professor at Notre Dame Law School, her old school. She taught different law subjects, like constitutional law. She was named a full professor in 2010. She won the "Distinguished Professor of the Year" award three times.
Becoming a Federal Judge
In 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Barrett to be a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. This court hears appeals from federal courts in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
During her confirmation hearing, some senators asked her about her religious beliefs. They wondered if her faith would affect her decisions as a judge. Barrett said that her personal beliefs would not influence her duties as a judge. She said it is never right for a judge to use their personal views instead of the law.
Many people, including her former law clerks and Notre Dame colleagues, supported her nomination. On October 31, 2017, the Senate confirmed her as a judge. She was the first woman to hold an Indiana seat on the Seventh Circuit.
Nomination to the Supreme Court
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Amy Coney Barrett was on President Trump's list of possible Supreme Court nominees since 2017. After Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away in September 2020, Barrett was seen as the top choice to take her place.
On September 26, 2020, President Trump announced he would nominate Barrett to the Supreme Court. This nomination happened close to the 2020 presidential election. This caused some debate because Republicans had refused to consider a nominee in 2016 during an election year.
Republicans generally supported her nomination. Democrats mostly opposed it, arguing that the vacancy should not be filled so close to the election.
The American Bar Association, which rates judges, gave Barrett its highest rating. Her confirmation hearing began in October 2020. On October 26, 2020, the Senate confirmed her to the Supreme Court by a vote of 52–48. She was confirmed just 30 days after her nomination.
U.S. Supreme Court (2020–Present)
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Amy Coney Barrett became the 103rd associate justice on October 27, 2020. She took two oaths of office. Justice Clarence Thomas gave her the first oath. Chief Justice John Roberts gave her the second oath the next day.
Justice Barrett is the only current Supreme Court justice who did not go to Harvard Law School or Yale Law School. She is the first justice to graduate from Notre Dame Law School. She is also the first former Notre Dame faculty member to serve on the Supreme Court.
Personal Life
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In 1999, Amy Coney married Jesse M. Barrett. He is also a lawyer and a law professor at Notre Dame Law School. They live in South Bend, Indiana.
The couple has seven children. Two of their children were adopted from Haiti. Their youngest biological child has Down syndrome.
Affiliations
Justice Barrett was a member of the Federalist Society for some years. She is also a member of the American Law Institute.
See Also
In Spanish: Amy Coney Barrett para niños
