Dozens of Notre Dame faculty members sign letter urging Amy Coney Barrett to pause confirmation process
Tim Balk
Dozens of faculty members at the University of Notre Dame inked their names to an open letter urging Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a former law professor at the school, to halt her Supreme Court confirmation process until after Election Day.
The letter carried 88 signatories from a range of disciplines at both the undergrad and graduate level, but no faculty members at Notre Dame Law School signed on.
“The rushed nature of your nomination process, which you certainly recognize as an exercise in raw power politics, may effectively deprive the American people of a voice in selecting the next Supreme Court justice,” said the letter, which was published Tuesday.
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett is in the hot seat on Capitol Hill this week.
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett is in the hot seat on Capitol Hill this week. (Patrick Semansky/)
Barrett’s intense Senate confirmation hearings entered their second day on Tuesday, with Republican lawmakers touting the judge’s dazzling credentials, and irritated Democrats questioning the frenzied process amid a pandemic and probing the nominee’s views on Obamacare and abortion rights.
Barrett, 48, studied at Notre Dame Law School and started working at the prestigious law school in 2002, becoming one of its most popular professors. The conservative judge also met her husband at the South Bend, Ind., school.
Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey flagged the faculty members’ views at the hearings. “They wrote an impassioned letter for the sake of our democracy,” the 51-year-old Democrat said, adding that “this is not normal.”
Professor Eileen Hunt Botting, who teaches political science at Notre Dame, said the letter was distributed through an electronic mailing list and that some law professors would have seen it. Faculty members at the law school have spoken glowingly about Barrett.
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett attends her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., questions Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett during the third day of her confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020.
People protest for and against the confirmation of President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, rally at the Supreme Court on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., listens during the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett speaks during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Protesters against President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, rally on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., talks during the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Supporters of the confirmation of President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, rally on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020.
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett testifies during the third day of her confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., questions Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett during the third day of her confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020.
People protest for and against the confirmation of President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, rally at the Supreme Court on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks during a confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett listens during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., questions Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, speaks during the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Committee Chairman Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., left, greets White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows as they enter the hearing room after a break in the confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett before the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020.
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett points to her family during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., questions Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett via video during the second day of her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., listens at right.
Sen. Ted Crus, R-Texas, questions Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, questions Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett during the second day of her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., questions Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett during the second day of her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020.
Staff members and security wait outside a back entrance to the hearing room where Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020.
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett listens during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
From left, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, hold photographs of people who were saved due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) during a news conference after the confirmation hearing of President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, at the Supreme Court in Washington, Monday, Oct. 12, 2020. Barrett's confirmation hearing began Monday before the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks virtually during a confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Monday, Oct. 12, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., speaks via video conference during a confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Monday, Oct. 12, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett arrives for her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Oct. 12, 2020.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, speaks during a confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Monday, Oct. 12, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., speaks during a confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Monday, Oct. 12, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, adjusts a pin showing former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg during a confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Monday, Oct. 12, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett attends the Senate Judiciary Committee on the first day of her Supreme Court confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on Oct. 12, 2020, in Washington, DC.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Lindsey Graham Utah., Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, speak during a confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Capitol Hill on Oct. 12, 2020, in Washington, DC.
Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) attends the Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Judge Amy Coney Barrett before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the first day of her hearing on Capitol Hill on Oct. 12, 2020, in Washington, DC.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., listens during a confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Capitol Hill on Oct. 12, 2020, in Washington, DC.
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) looks on near a poster with people that benefited from the Affordable Care Act as opening statements are made at the Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Judge Amy Coney Barrett before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the first day of her hearing on Capitol Hill on Oct. 12, 2020, in Washington, DC. With less than a month until the presidential election, President Donald Trump tapped Amy Coney Barrett to be his third Supreme Court nominee in just four years. If confirmed, Barrett would replace the late Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., speaks during a confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Capitol Hill on Oct. 12, 2020, in Washington, DC.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, speaks during a confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Capitol Hill on Oct. 12, 2020, in Washington, DC.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows arrives before a confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Capitol Hill on Oct. 12, 2020, in Washington, DC. Barrett was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the vacancy left by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who passed away in September.
The Supreme Court is illuminated early Monday morning before the start of the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Justice nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Oct. 12, 2020, in Washington, DC.
But Hunt Botting said Barrett, who describes her judicial philosophy as an “originalist” viewpoint, could show her respect for American democracy by pressing pause.
“An originalist justice must put her loyalty to the constitution above all else, and accepting this rushed and politicized nomination before the election threatens the integrity and stability of our nation’s liberal democratic constitutional order,” Hunt Botting said in an email to the Daily News.
