Recusal from case with huge implications for education could tilt scales in cause her friend spent a career defendingIn 2020, when Amy Coney Barrett came before the Senate for confirmation to the US supreme court, one of her closest friends told a story on TV about their year together working as law clerks in the nation’s capital.“That last day when you leave the court you think, ‘Wow, that’s about the coolest thing that’s ever going to happen to me,’” said Nicole Stelle Garnett. She assisted Justice Clarence Thomas during the 1998 term, the same year Barrett worked under Justice Antonin Scalia. “Now, to see my friend testifying before the Senate judiciary committee, to walk back up the steps 21 years later is really, really something.” Continue reading...
Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from a Supreme Court case regarding whether religious organizations can operate charter schools, likely due to her close friendship with Nicole Stelle Garnett, a law professor and early legal advisor to the school involved. The case, with potentially significant implications for the separation of church and state in education, could result in a 4-4 tie, upholding the Oklahoma court's decision against the religious charter school. Garnett has spent her career defending the cause now potentially impacted by Barrett's recusal.
