Nearly 300 St. Mary’s Dominican High Alums Urge The Senate to Confirm Judge Barrett

Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett is sworn in during the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Justice in the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington on Oct. 12, 2020. (Erin Schaff/Pool/Getty Images)

Close to 300 of Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s high school alums urged the U.S. Senate to confirm her to the Supreme Court, saying they believe “Judge Barrett is eminently qualified.”

Judge Barrett’s confirmation hearings started Monday and will span four days.

The group of former students addressed their letter to Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), telling them that Barrett exhibited natural leadership skills that were evident in her ability to connect and establish friendships with “girls from every group and class.”

The letter was written by students who went to Judge Barrett’s high school, St. Mary’s Dominican High School, and who described themselves as having a diverse set of backgrounds, “Our religious, cultural and political views span a wide spectrum,” they wrote.

The women went on to list Barrett’s academic and professional accomplishments. “After Dominican, she attended Rhodes College, where she graduated magna cum laude and then earned her law degree from Notre Dame, summa cum laude,” they wrote.

Judge Barrett clerked for Judge Laurence H. Silberman of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and for the late Justice Antonin Scalia of the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Since being appointed and confirmed to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Barrett has exhibited the same intelligence, fairness, decency, generosity, and hard work she has demonstrated throughout her life including in her years at St. Mary’s Dominican High School,” they wrote.

The alums’ letter to the Senate echoes Monday’s letter from lawmakers in all 50 states who expressed support for the nomination of Judge Barrett.

The state legislative leaders joined together to pen a letter to Senate leaders to urge the congressional body to conduct a prompt, thorough, and fair hearing process on Barrett’s nomination.

“We ask that you honor your responsibility to give Judge Barrett full and fair consideration and that you approve her nomination as soon as possible. We are confident that she is up to the task of undergoing the Senate’s hearing process and will demonstrate how qualified she is to sit on the highest court of our land,” they wrote.

In addition, The American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary said in a letter to Graham and Feinstein on Sunday that a majority of members determined Barrett is well qualified to serve on the Supreme Court. The rest said she is qualified.

Twenty-four Republican governors sent a letter (pdf) last week to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), as well as Graham and Feinstein calling for the Senate to confirm Barrett.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.