FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 26, 2020
For media inquiries only, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Attorney General Steve Marshall Hails President Donald J. Trump’s Nomination
of Judge Amy Coney Barrett for Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
(MONTGOMERY) – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall hailed today’s
announcement by President Donald J. Trump nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the U.S. Supreme Court:
“This is a truly historic day for the United States Supreme Court – and, more
importantly, the United States itself.
“I am reminded of words written by the late, great Justice Antonin Scalia, who
concluded an opinion with this sobering statement on how judicial activism seemed to be always and forever on the advance in the Supreme Court: ‘Day by day, case by case, (the Supreme Court) is busy designing a Constitution for a country I do not recognize.’
In 2016, when Justice Scalia passed away, he would have had no reason to suspect that within four years the decades-long advance of judicial activism he had fought against so valiantly could be turned into a retreat.
“Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who clerked for Justice Scalia, is a woman of
unimpeachable character and integrity, an attorney of extraordinary intellect and accomplishment, and a jurist of the highest caliber and order. Her jurisprudential record is superlative, revealing a devotion to faithfully interpreting and applying the law as it was written – to safeguarding, not rewriting, the crown jewel of our Republic, the Constitution of the United States.
“In a word, Judge Barrett is an ideal nominee for the Supreme Court.
“Judge Barrett was confirmed by the U.S. Senate, in a bipartisan vote, to her current post on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. She received support during her confirmation process by all 49 of her Notre Dame Law School colleagues; by 450 of her former students; and by every single Supreme Court law clerk who worked with her the same term that she clerked for Justice Scalia – with these supporters spanning the political spectrum, including Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike. Indeed, signatories of letters sent to Congress in support of Judge Barrett’s confirmation even included leading figures in liberal academia, who praised her ‘conscientious work ethic, her respect for the law, and her remarkable legal abilities,’ noted that ‘she conducted herself with professionalism, grace, and integrity,’ and testified that she possessed the qualities shared by every esteemed judge by being ‘smart, honorable, and fair-minded.’
“Judge Barrett is self-evidently qualified to sit on the Supreme Court, and the Senate should act immediately to confirm her as associate justice. And there is time to do so before the election. Justice O’Connor was confirmed in 33 days by a unanimous vote. Justice Ginsburg was confirmed in 42 days by a near-unanimous vote (only 3 senators voted ‘nay’). There is no reason Judge Barrett’s confirmation process should be any different.
“I applaud President Trump for what he has been able to accomplish in only his first term in office by fulfilling his promise to fill judicial vacancies with judges committed to judging, not legislating from the bench. The President’s judicial nominations have changed the direction of not only our nation’s highest court, but of courts at all levels across the country, and brought about a renewed national focus on honoring the rule of law and the Constitution.
“To paraphrase the words of Justice Scalia I quoted at the start: Day by day, judge by judge, President Trump is busy nominating men and women who faithfully interpret the Constitution for a country we recognize. For that, President Trump deserves the praise and gratitude of all Americans.”
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