I guess we can start with this website design…talk about needing an overhaul! I guess the US Supreme Court doesn’t worry too much about the design of their website. WordPress offers so many great options, however, it is not even a WordPress site. It is easy to just throw something up that serves its purpose. Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice’s picture has not been placed on the site as of yet, maybe some designers lack of attention to details. On a positive note, The Supreme Court site happens to rank very well, coming in at 2,956 in ahrefs. Being, of course, a very important resource for citizens of the United States. Enough of that, let’s talk a little bit about Amy Coney Barrett and this unprecedented time.
With the passing away of the revolutionary Justice Ruth Baer-Ginsberg, the furor over who her successor will have finally died. Amy Coney Barrett has been sworn in as Supreme Court Justice, just eight days before Election Day. With her rushed appointment to the Supreme Court, Justice Amy Coney Barrett has a tough start, especially due to the absence of bond-building rituals with colleagues, courtesy of Covid 19. With this, she will have complex tasks at hand – to build her image in the public eye, to approach cases with an unbiased outlook as well as build a rapport with eight other existing justices.
The commotion over whether a justice should be appointed so close to the presidential election has been put to an end with this hurried appointment. Justice Barrett was confirmed exactly one month after her nomination, with President Trump praising her sterling character and impeccable credentials. She is the third successful nomination during President Trump’s tenure and the sixth conservative justice on the nine-person court. This also happens to be the first time in 151 years that a Justice was confirmed to the Supreme Court without considering the opinion and the votes of the minority party.
She was approved to be an associate justice on the Supreme Court, with a close 52-48 vote on Monday evening. She won the favor of all Republican senators except one. In the preliminary vote on Sunday, the Democrats attempted to stall the nomination, albeit unsuccessfully. They continued to insist that the nomination to the Supreme Court should have been decided by the winner of the upcoming elections.
The Democrats vehemently opposed this appointment before the elections and expressed fears that Trump rushed through with the nomination to fulfill his agenda.
The Democratic point of view was initially supported by two Republicans – Senator Susan Collins and Senator Lisa Murkowski. However, Senator Murkowski ultimately supported her party, giving them a clean majority required to finish this process of appointment.
The Democrats have not hidden their disappointment at this sudden turn of events. In their final speeches before the Senate, they emphasized how the Republicans ‘thwarted’ the Senate precedent as well as the will of the people of America. Calling it one of the darkest days in the 231-year history of America, the Democrats warned of serious consequences of Barrett’s appointment for the coming years.
During the confirmation hearings, the Democrats asked Barrett to recuse herself from cases pertaining to the 2020 election as well as the Trump administration. These cases are likely to be key topics of discussion in the coming weeks. To this, Barrett said she was open to recusal, but did not commit easily to the same.
Justice Barrett has had a history of a near-consistent conservative opinion on cases about burning issues such as abortion, gun rights, discrimination and immigration. Having said this, one of her very first hearings will be on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. The Democrats claim that this has been a confirmation of their apprehensions, and this is precisely the reason why the Republicans wanted Barrett on the bench as soon as possible.