Amy Coney Barrett: All About the Supreme Court Justice at the Center of America’s Most Heated Legal Battles

When Amy Coney Barrett was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in October 2020 by President Donald Trump, she became an instant household name. Lauded by conservatives and criticised by liberals, her rapid ascent to the bench ahead of the 2020 election triggered waves of national debate. Nearly five years later, she has surprised critics and supporters alike by carving out a complex and independent judicial path, one that now places her squarely at the centre of some of the nation’s most divisive and high-stakes rulings.

How Amy Coney Barrett Went from Law Professor to Supreme Court Justice

President Donald Trump watches as Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas swears in Judge Amy Coney Barrett as a Supreme Court Associate Justice, flanked by her husband Jesse M. Barrett, during a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, Oct. 26, 2020.
Source: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Before her nomination, Amy Coney Barrett was a respected law professor at the University of Notre Dame, where she had also earned her law degree. She clerked for the late Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the most influential conservative voices in Supreme Court history, whose textualist approach to interpreting the Constitution deeply influenced her legal philosophy.

Barrett’s academic background and clear conservative leanings made her a favourite among right-leaning legal circles. When Trump tapped her to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the ideological shift on the bench was immediate and dramatic.

Why Barrett’s Recent Rulings Have People Talking

Barrett made headlines in June 2025 after authoring the Supreme Court’s opinion in Trump v. CASA, a case that upheld former President Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship. The ruling also significantly limited the ability of federal judges to issue nationwide injunctions, marking a powerful shift in how presidential power can be checked or not by the courts.

The decision surprised many, not just because of its implications, but because Chief Justice John Roberts, typically known for assigning high-profile cases to himself, handed the authorship of the opinion to Barrett. Her majority opinion was notable for its forceful tone, especially her pointed rebuttal of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s dissent, which she dismissed as “tethered neither to [the Judiciary Act of 1789] nor, frankly, to any doctrine whatsoever.”

Barrett wrote, “We observe only this: Justice Jackson decries an imperial Executive while embracing an imperial Judiciary.”

Has Barrett Shifted Politically Over Time?

Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett attend President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, March 4, 2025.
Source: Win McNamee/Getty Images

In the months leading up to the landmark CASA decision, Barrett faced criticism from conservatives who accused her of drifting leftward. She had sided with the court’s liberal justices and Chief Justice Roberts in several narrow 5-4 rulings that did not favour Trump’s emergency appeals, including a case that denied Trump’s effort to freeze nearly $2 billion in foreign aid.

These moves raised eyebrows and led to backlash from MAGA-aligned commentators. Some labelled her a “DEI hire,” while others openly questioned her loyalty to conservative values. But with the CASA ruling, many of those same voices reversed course, calling her opinion a bold return to constitutional conservatism. Trump himself praised Barrett, saying, “I want to thank Justice Barrett, who wrote the opinion brilliantly.”

What About Barrett’s Role in Transgender Rights Cases?

Barrett also drew attention in the 2025 Skrmetti decision, in which the court upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors. While the majority ruled that the law did not discriminate based on sex or transgender status, Barrett went further in her concurring opinion, explicitly stating that transgender individuals do not constitute a suspect class entitled to heightened constitutional protection.

“Courts are not equipped to oversee all manner of policy choices normally committed to legislative discretion,” she wrote, rejecting the Biden administration’s argument for greater scrutiny of anti-trans laws.

Only Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito shared that view outright. Neither of Trump’s other Supreme Court picks—Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh signed on to Barrett’s concurrence.

Why MAGA Criticism Turned to Praise

Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett (left) and Ketanji Brown Jackson (right) attend former President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. on February 7, 2023.
Source: Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Barrett’s tough stance in both CASA and Skrmetti was widely viewed as a reclamation of her conservative credibility. Right-wing influencers who had derided her as too moderate quickly changed their tone. Rep. Mike Lee of Utah called her opinion in CASA an “epic mic drop moment.” Others used memes and GIFs to celebrate her scathing rebuttal of Justice Jackson’s dissent.

Even as the MAGA movement embraced her anew, Barrett’s approach continued to defy easy categorisation. In other major rulings from the 2024–2025 term, she had broken ranks with conservatives, such as when she voted to uphold the Federal Communications Commission’s rural broadband subsidies and sided with liberal justices in preserving the authority of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

“She’s not just following the partisan political winds,” said Harvard Law professor Noah Feldman. “She’s following what she thinks of as fundamental principles of legal judgment.”

What Makes Barrett One of the Most Intriguing Justices Today

Court watchers now view Barrett as the “centre figure” on the Roberts Court, a swing vote whose decisions can dramatically sway the outcomes of politically charged cases. Her unique position reflects the increasingly fractured state of the conservative legal movement, where even Trump appointees no longer vote as a bloc.

Barrett’s reputation as a restrained, methodical writer took a back seat in her CASA opinion, where she adopted a more forceful, even confrontational, style. “She’s always been known as a ‘one jalapeño’ writer compared to Scalia’s ‘five jalapeño’ flair,” a fellow law clerk once said. But in her sharp rebuke of Jackson’s dissent, Barrett showed a side of herself few had seen before.

What’s Next for Amy Coney Barrett?

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett speaks at an event for the Federalist Society in Washington, Nov. 9, 2023. In distancing herself from both blocs in the nominally unanimous decision rejecting a constitutional challenge to former President Donald Trump’s eligibility to hold office, she staked out a distinctive role.
Source: Elizabeth Frantz/The New York Times

Barrett has not only been shaping the law from the bench but is also poised to reach new audiences with her upcoming book. This September, she’s set to release Listening to the Law: Reflections on the Court and Constitution, a personal and professional reflection on her judicial philosophy, career, and time on the Supreme Court.

She’s also been more visible in public appearances, including a joint event with liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor. At the event, Barrett stressed the importance of civil discourse, saying, “I know that Justice Sotomayor respects me and we have affection for one another—even when we disagree deeply about the merits.”

Despite occasional blowback from both the left and right, Barrett remains a consequential voice whose rulings will continue to influence American law for decades. As debate rages over the direction of the Court, one thing is certain—Amy Coney Barrett will be at the centre of it.

FAQs

Who is Amy Coney Barrett? Amy Coney Barrett is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. She was nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed in October 2020.

What is Amy Coney Barrett known for? She is known for her conservative judicial philosophy, influenced by the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Barrett has ruled on key cases involving presidential power, immigration, transgender rights, and administrative law.

Did Amy Coney Barrett support Donald Trump’s policies? In some cases, yes. She authored the majority opinion in Trump v. CASA, which upheld Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order. However, she has also ruled against Trump’s interests in certain emergency applications.

Is Amy Coney Barrett conservative or moderate? She is generally considered conservative, but her rulings have sometimes diverged from the positions of other right-leaning justices.

What’s next for Amy Coney Barrett? Her book, Listening to the Law, will be released in September 2025. She is also expected to remain a central figure on the Supreme Court in major upcoming cases.