(CNN)Judge Amy Coney Barrett submitted written responses to scores of questions from Senate Judiciary Committee members Tuesday night ahead of her expected confirmation to the Supreme Court next week.
Barrett repeatedly declined to discuss voting rights, coronavirus and the 2020 election, presidential pardon power, abortion, the Affordable Care Act and other issues that could appear before the Supreme Court in the coming months.
In response to a question from Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, mirroring a contentious moment during the hearings, Barrett again declined to say whether she believes “systemic racism” does or does not exist.
“I believe that racism persists in our country but, as I explained at the hearing, whether there is ‘systemic racism’ is a public policy question of substantial controversy, as evidenced by the disagreement among Senators on this very question during the hearing,” Barrett wrote. “As a sitting judge and judicial nominee, it would be inappropriate for me to offer an opinion on the matter.”
As with her two days of sparring with senators last week. Barrett does not offer specific answers to questions, citing the possibility of ongoing litigation and that some queries raised public policy controversies or “abstract legal issues or hypotheticals.”
In her responses, Barrett repeated a version of an answer to questions about previous Supreme Court rulings nearly 40 times. “It would not be appropriate for me to opine further on this question; as Justice Kagan explained, it is not appropriate for a judicial nominee to ‘grade’ or give a ‘thumbs-up or thumbs-down’ to particular cases,” she repeatedly states.
Source: Barrett ducks questions on presidential power and systemic racism
Recent Comments