Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a prominent figure in the legal profession, expressed her admiration for the collegiality within the legal system. She highlighted that the profession operates continually through disagreements, unlike other professions that operate through a bridge. Barrett’s remarks were made at the judicial conference for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, which covers federal courts in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. She emphasized the importance of “zealous advocacy and professionalism, and careful and fair adjudication” in the legal system.
Before President Trump’s return to the White House, Barrett faced criticism from his political base after ruling against his administration in several emergency cases. However, she landed back in MAGA’s good graces after authoring the majority decision in Trump’s birthright citizenship case that curtailed nationwide injunctions, a key tool used by judges to halt the president’s sweeping agenda. Barrett also issued a rare smackdown of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s dissenting opinion, ripping the majority’s decision as an “existential threat to the rule of law.”
Several justices have made notable remarks at judicial conferences, including Brett Kavanaugh, who defended the Supreme Court’s emergency rulings at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit’s judicial conference, and Justice Elena Kagan, who urged the court to explain itself better in emergency rulings at the California judicial conference for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Barrett thanked the judges and lawyers in the crowd for their camaraderie and professionalism, stating that there is an upside to the professional hours that lawyers spend in disagreement.
