About this episode:
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett faced tough questions from Democrats last week over her positions on abortion, religion, and how she interprets the Constitution. But Judge Barrett’s stances on race deserve attention too.
Beyond acknowledging that racism exists, Judge Barrett refused to elaborate on the state of race in the country today, saying giving broader diagnoses about racism is “kind of beyond what I’m capable of doing as a judge.”
Janai Nelson, Associate Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund (LDF), doesn’t agree. After analyzing Judge Barrett’s decisions, writings, and speeches, Nelson and the LDF, the nation’s premier racial justice legal organization, are deeply troubled by Judge Barrett’s record on race.
As the Senate Judiciary Committee prepares to vote on her confirmation this week, Nelson tells Trymaine Lee why she is concerned about Judge Barrett’s nomination and what a Justice Amy Coney Barrett could mean for future Supreme Court rulings involving race.
Find the transcript here.
Further reading:
- Democrats hint at consequences as GOP moves to confirm Amy Coney Barrett
- Trump’s words haunt Amy Coney Barrett as she vows not to be a ‘pawn’ on Supreme Court
- Opinion: A Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett would erase the Constitution’s history