Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett downplayed President Donald Trump’s sharp barbs directed at federal judges, telling a New York crowd that US presidents have a long history of criticizing the judiciary.
Barrett appeared on stage Thursday night at Lincoln Center, where she was promoting her new book and spent an hour fielding questions from Bari Weiss, a conservative journalist and podcaster. Barrett sidestepped controversial answers, including when Weiss pressed her on Trump’s harsh criticism of judges who rule against his policies.
Trump’s wave of policies testing the bounds of presidential power has been met with a deluge of lawsuits, many of which have ended up on the Supreme Court’s emergency docket. Federal judges overseeing challenges to Trump’s executive orders around the US have faced a spike in death threats and other harassment in recent months.
“Conflicts between a president and the judiciary are not new,” said Barrett, citing former presidents who clashed with judges, Andrew Jackson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. “This is a dance that we’ve seen before.”
Barrett, 53, a Trump appointee in her fifth year on the Supreme Court, was careful to avoid stoking ideological conflict while defending the judiciary amid eroding trust in the institution. She is a key member of the conservative wing, though she occasionally deviates from that group on fine points of the law and the court’s procedures.
“I worry about the lack of institutional trust,” Barrett said. “I would like Americans to trust the institution of the court. I’m not saying that the court always gets it right. I wouldn’t say that I always get it right.”
But Americans, she said, “should trust that the court is trying to get it right. I do think Americans should trust that the court is doing its best to stay above the fray.”
Although Trump and his administration have been accused, at times by judges themselves, of repeatedly flouting the law and disobeying court orders, Barrett said she doesn’t believe the country is in a constitutional crisis.
“We have functioning courts,” she said. “A constitutional crisis would certainly be if the rule of law crumbles, but that is not a place where we are.”
She said the Constitution “is alive and well.”
Barrett began a multi-city book tour to promote her memoir, “Listening to the Law: Reflections on the Court and Constitution.” The event, sponsored by the Free Press, drew about 1,000 people who gave Barrett several warm ovations.
She has reported receving $425,000 for the book through 2024, part of what Politico said in 2021 was a $2 million advance.
With assistance from Greg Stohr.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
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