Quick News: The Top Two Judges on Trump's SCOTUS List

After 27 years on the United States' highest court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on September 18. She was a historic supporter of women's rights and was responsible for many advances in the national battle for equal gender rights. 

There is now a vacancy on the Supreme Court which the White House and Senate Republicans are intent on filling. The selection process seems to have coalesced around two judges-- both notably women: Barbara Lagoa and Amy Coney Barrett.

Barbara Lagoa

Lagoa is currently a Court of Appeals judge on the 11th Circuit. She is a Cuban immigrant from Miami and has potential electoral significance in the state.

With ties to the Federalist Society (a prominent conservative legal group) Lagoa is likely to uphold flagship conservative issues. However, she is on record acknowledging the legal precedent set by Roe v. Wade in written Senate hearing documents.

She has been a controversial figure in a recent case in Florida to keep up to 85,000 felons from voting. At one point while 11th Circuit judges questioned lawyers on the issue, Lagoa wondered aloud whether the court might eliminate Amendment 4---an amendment meant to eliminate a Jim-Crow era ban on voting for convicted felons---entirely from the constitution, if some parts were found to be unconstitutional. Gov. DeSantis' lawyers have not proposed anything of the sort, as such a move would break common legal practice and restore Jim-Crow era voting restrictions.

Lagoa also has a reputation as a strong anti-Castro advocate and is a prominent figure in the Cuban immigrant community in Florida. In 2000, she fought to keep a young Cuban boy Elián González in the US who had been taken from his father by federal agents. This legislative battle (done pro bono) conferred Lagoa a level of gravitas, and earned her praise from prominent Floridian politicians.

Amy Coney Barret

Barret is a Court of Appeals judge on the 7th Circuit. She was appointed in 2017 by President Trump. She has spent most of her career as a law professor at Notre Dame Law School. This means she has only served as a judge for 3 years and thus she lacks a collection of legal opinions for which she could be attacked.

Barret clerked for the late Justice Antonin Scalia after graduation from law school and is cast in the same mold. She believes the constitution should be interpreted as closely as possible to its original intention.

While she has stated in hearings that Roe v. Wade is binding precedent, she has also claimed that "life begins at conception" and that Justices should not be strictly bound by Supreme Court precedents. According to the Washington Post, Barret has "backed a 'soft' and 'flexible' interpretation of the legal principle honoring Supreme Court precedents".

Perhaps most troubling for Democrats is Barret's age. She is only 48 and could serve on the Supreme Court for decades.

Main Points

Both judges which Trump is considering are young and conservative. Both judges have affirmed the precedent of Roe v. Wade. Both judges would likely rule center-right relative to the current right-wing lean the SCOTUS has already adopted. 

Two points to conclude: 

One: While it seems likely that the Senate will maintain its majority to confirm Trump's pick, at least two Senate Republicans (Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski) have said they do not believe this confirmation aligns with the precedent set by Mitch McConnell in 2016. If this number increases to four, the new justice will likely not be confirmed before the election.

Two: The SCOTUS has upheld recent advances in areas of gay and transgender rights-- despite a conservative majority. This, with the knowledge that both Lagoa and Barret acknowledge the precedent of Roe v. Wade, may be a sign of a court which will change to reflect its culture. Only time will ultimately tell.

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