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Judge Barrett has support for Supreme Court nomination from her Notre Dame students

Judge Barrett graduated from Notre Dame Law School. She has taught classes there since 2002.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — President Donald Trump is expected to announce his Supreme Court nominee Saturday to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. A woman from South Bend is considered at the top of the list. Judge Amy Coney Barrett has served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit since October 2017.         

Judge Barrett graduated from Notre Dame Law School. She has taught classes there since 2002. Third-year law school student Ben Horvath, from South Bend, is in Judge Barrett's Statutory Interpretation Seminar this semester.

"She's incredibly down to earth for as big of a figure as she is, very humble,” Horvath said. “You never get the sense that she's above everybody else in the class, just very willing to engage with students whatever their ideas might be."

Third-year Notre Dame Law School student Keith Ongeri, from Fishers, said law students are so eager to learn from Judge Barrett that it's hard to get enrolled in her class.

"She understands both sides to every argument,” Ongeri said. “It's not necessarily a sermon or a lecture in what she believes is right."

During her U.S. Senate confirmation hearing in 2017 for the Court of Appeals, Judge Barrett was questioned whether her Catholic faith has too much influence on her court rulings.

Third-year Notre Dame Law School student Alyson Cox, from Indianapolis, grew up in Catholic schools. She calls Judge Barrett a role model for female law students.

"Her faith has only magnified her abilities as a professor, and I expect the same would be true if she were appointed to the Supreme Court,” Cox said. “I think we could expect her career to be marked with the same integrity we all know her to have in her academic work and in her personal life. She cares really deeply about her students. She's incredibly fair."

If Judge Barrett is nominated Saturday, what about Statutory Interpretation Seminar Monday?

"That's my big question right now I have,” Ongeri said with a laugh. “I have an outstanding email from her. Obviously, she has been kind of busy this week as you can imagine."

Judge Barrett is perhaps about to get even busier with a U.S. Senate confirmation hearing for a seat on the nation's highest court.

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