Kristen Clarke: Judge Amy Coney Barrett's nomination raises grave questions around civil rights
One can't ignore the unprecedented nature of this nomination. Never before in our nation's history has a president put forward a Supreme Court nomination and called on the Senate to commence confirmation hearings as voters were actively casting ballots in a general election. This fact alone makes this nomination the most politicized ever.
Moreover, Judge Amy Coney Barrett sided with Republicans who refused to fill Justice Antonin Scalia's seat in 2016 until after the election because, in her view, it would "dramatically flip the balance of power" on the Court. Given that position, you would expect that Barrett would ask that her nomination not be considered until the completion of the election.
This marks the first time in decades (since the nomination of Thurgood Marshall in 1967) that the Court has been without a justice who fought for civil rights during his or her career.
For those who care about fair interpretation and application of civil rights laws and the Constitution, Barrett's record raises grave questions. By way of example, she has called the Miranda doctrine, the principle that all criminal suspects must be advised of their rights upon arrest, an example of "the court's choice to overenforce a constitutional norm" that goes beyond constitutional meaning and claimed that this canon "inevitably excludes from evidence even some confessions freely given."
Furthermore, she has expressed criticism of Justice John Robert's decision upholding the Affordable Care Act and appears poised to entertain challenges to Roe v. Wade based on her strong views regarding conception.
Barrett also declined the EEOC's request for an en banc review in the case EEOC v. AutoZone, involving allegations that AutoZone intentionally segregated employees into different stores based on race. A three-judge panel ruled in favor of AutoZone because, they said, the segregated facilities did not diminish Black employees' "pay, benefits or job responsibilities."
Just weeks away from the close of the general election, there is one part of Barrett's resume that likely really caught the eye of President Donald Trump -- she was a member of the then-Governor George W. Bush's legal team in the historic Bush v Gore case in 2000. Given President Trump's suggestion that the vacancy must be filled before the election, this further contributes to the politicized nature of this nomination. The integrity of the Court is on the line and, as over 1,500 attorneys across our nation have called for, Barrett's nomination should be suspended until the voters have had their say on how this vacancy should be handled.
Kristen Clarke is the president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. She can be followed @KristenClarkeJD
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