Nicole Garnett: I've known Amy Coney Barrett for over 20 years

I first met Amy Coney at a Washington, D. C., coffee shop in the spring of 1998. A mutual friend had connected us because we were about to begin clerking together on the Supreme Court (me for Justice Clarence Thomas, her for Justice Antonin Scalia). I don’t remember the details, but I do remember that I walked away thinking I had just met a remarkable woman.

We could not have known then that over the next 22 years, our lives would become completely intertwined: That, three years later, she would become my colleague at Notre Dame Law School, that she and her husband would move around the corner from us in South Bend, Indiana, and that we would raise our children together. We could not have known that, in a sense, we would grow up together — as lawyers, teachers, scholars, mothers, friends. And we certainly could not have imagined that, 22 years later, she would be nominated to serve on the United States Supreme Court.

But looking back, everything has changed, except Amy Coney Barrett. The very same qualities that struck me as remarkable on that spring afternoon are the qualities that make her an exceptional judge, award-winning teacher, generous colleague, loyal friend and loving mother. And the obvious pick to serve on the Supreme Court. She is brilliant, to be sure, but also humble, generous, loving, kind. She accepts each new challenge with grace and gives all she has to give (and sometimes it seems more) to all she is called to do. She will bring all those qualities to the Supreme Court, and our nation will be blessed by her years of service as Justice Barrett.

As Harvard Law School professor Noah Feldman, who clerked with us and disagrees with much of her judicial philosophy, recently observed, she stood out as one of the two finest legal minds among the almost 40 clerks. He concludes, “I’m going to be confident that Barrett is going to be a good justice, maybe even a great one — even if I disagree with her all the way.”

Since joining the faculty at Notre Dame, she has made her mark as a leading constitutional law scholar and one of our best, and most challenging, teachers. Students quickly learn to be prepared to answer her tough questions about subjects ranging from the evidentiary issues in the movie “My Cousin Vinny” to the complexities of statutory interpretation. They all are in awe of her, which is, honestly, more than a little humbling for the rest of us professors.

And, in the three years since her appointment to the U. S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, the rigorous, incisive and careful approach she brought to her scholarship and teaching has been reflected in over 100 judicial opinions that demonstrate her steadfast fidelity to the rule of law.

Amy Coney Barrett:If Democrats attack her over 'People of Praise' membership, they'll regret it

Yes, she is brilliant. And, yes, she is a principled, careful judge, admired legal scholar and ... (Read more)

Latest News