LAKE GENEVA, Wis. (AP) 鈥 U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told attendees at a judicial conference in Wisconsin on Monday that she welcomed public scrutiny of the court. But she stopped short of commenting on whether she thinks the court should change how it operates in the face of recent criticism.
Barrett did not offer any opinion, or speak directly about, recent calls for the justices to institute .
Barrett took questions from Diane Sykes, chief judge of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court, at a conference attended by judges, attorneys and court personnel. The event came at a time when in the court is at a 50-year low following a series of polarizing rulings, including the overturning of Roe v. Wade and federal abortion protections last year.
Barrett did not mention that have dogged some justices 鈥 including conservatives and and .
鈥淧ublic scrutiny is welcome," Barrett said. 鈥淚ncreasing and enhancing civics education is welcome.鈥
Barrett, 51, said the immediacy and amount of information that is available has fed the increased scrutiny of the Supreme Court.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e not waiting once a day to read your print newspaper," she said. "You鈥檙e seeing things come across your phone all the time, and you鈥檙e seeing pictures of people.鈥
Barrett recalled that before the birth of the internet when she was a law clerk, people routinely visited the Supreme Court and asked justices on the court to take their pictures or for directions because they did not know who they were.
鈥淧eople just didn鈥檛 recognize who the justices were," Barrett said. "I think that鈥檚 better. I don鈥檛 think justices should be recognizable in that sense.鈥
But she said that critique of the court is nothing new.
鈥淛ustices and all judges are public figures and public criticism comes with the job,鈥 Barrett said. 鈥淚'm still kind of new at this.鈥
Barrett was a circuit court judge in the 7th Circuit from 2017 to 2020 until she was appointed to the Supreme Court. She graduated from Notre Dame Law School, in northern Indiana, and taught law there from 2002 until her appointment to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.
鈥淚've been at it for a couple of years now,鈥 Barrett said. 鈥淚've acquired a thick skin, and I think that's what other figures have to do. I think that's what all judges have to do.鈥
She said there is both good and bad to the court being in the news so much recently.
鈥淭o the extent that it engages people in the work of the court and paying attention to the court and knowing what the courts do and what the Constitution has to say, that's a positive development,鈥 she said. 鈥淭o the extent that it gives them misimpressions, that's a negative development.鈥
Barrett鈥檚 public appearance came after Justice Elena Kagan, at a earlier this month, publicly declared her support for an ethics code for the Supreme Court. But she said there was no consensus among the justices on how to proceed, suggesting the high court is grappling with public concerns over its ethics practices.
Justice Samueal Alito, during with the Wall Street Journal opinion pages in July, said Congress lacks the power to impose a code of ethics on the . That made him the first member of the court to take a public stand against proposals in Congress to toughen ethics rules for justices in response to increased scrutiny of their activities beyond the bench.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the only other justice to make public comments since the court's term ended in June, during an appearance at a judicial conference in Minnesota last month.
thousands of pages of documents that show how justices spanning the court鈥檚 ideological divide have lent the prestige of their positions to partisan activity 鈥 by headlining speaking events with prominent politicians 鈥 or to advance their own personal interests, such as , through college visits. And earlier this year revealed Justice Clarence Thomas participated in lavish vacations and a real estate deal with a top Republican donor.
Barrett described the court as 鈥渨arm,鈥 with justices sharing lunches together.
鈥淭here's warm personal relations,鈥 she said. 鈥淭here's an effort to accommodate one another."
The conference where Barrett spoke was for the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana, where Barrett previously lived. The meeting was held in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, a resort area 80 miles northwest of Chicago.
