October 9, 2020
The Honorable Lindsey Graham
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
224 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Dianne Feinstein
Ranking Member
Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
224 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Graham and Ranking Member Feinstein:
On behalf of the Article III Project’s thousands of followers and our Supreme Court confirmation team of nearly 30, I write to you today to strongly recommend the Senate’s confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States before the end of the month.
Judge Barrett is one of our country’s brightest legal minds. She graduated #1 in her class at Notre Dame Law School, where she served as the executive editor of the law review, before clerking for the late, great Justice Antonin Scalia.
For the last 18 years, including her last 3-plus years of service on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Judge Barrett has served as a widely renowned and respected Notre Dame law professor. She enjoys a reputation as a legal scholar, with towering intellect on topics from statutory interpretation to constitutional law, shaping the next generation of legal minds as an approachable instructor at the same time. In recognition of her academic excellence, she won “Distinguished Professor of the Year” three times.
Judge Barrett’s character has earned bipartisan praise from the legal community, in addition to the academic community. Her colleagues describe her as “a model of the fair, impartial and sympathetic judge” and “a brilliant and conscientious lawyer who will analyze and decide cases in good faith.”
On a personal level, Judge Barrett is equal parts impressive and inspirational. She is a dedicated wife and mother of seven, including two adopted children from Haiti as well as a son with Down syndrome. She and her husband have managed to reach highly impressive career achievements – while also fully committing to raising their family as partners.
When Judge Barrett is confirmed later this month, her nomination will make history. She will be the first mother of school-aged children to serve as a justice and only the fifth woman ever on the Supreme Court. Importantly, Judge Barrett will become the only current justice to have earned a law degree from a school other than Harvard or Yale – bringing much-needed intellectual diversity (and Midwestern sensibilities) to the nation’s highest bench.
Judge Barrett is entitled to a fair confirmation process – free from ideological bias and religious discrimination. A3P supports the confirmation of those who respect the independence of the federal judiciary. We believe the proper role of a judge is one of modesty – not one that allows a judge to stand in place of the legislature and render decisions that reflect individual policy preferences. On the Seventh Circuit, Judge Barrett has demonstrated her commitment to this view and an unyielding loyalty to the constitutional values we all hold dearly as Americans.
Every detail in Judge Barrett’s record confirms that she will discharge her judicial oath with humility and dignity. She is one of our country’s finest public servants and a role model for all. We strongly urge the Senate to confirm Judge Barrett’s nomination by the end of the month.
Sincerely,
Mike Davis
Founder and President
The Article III Project (A3P)