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Amy Coney Barrett

Amy Coney Barrett

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

Appears in 4 stories

Born: January 28, 1972 (age 54 years), New Orleans, LA
Books: Listening to the Law
Spouse: Jesse M. Barrett (m. 1999)
Education: Notre Dame Law School (1997), Rhodes College (1994), and St. Mary's Dominican High School (1990)
Parents: Linda Coney and Michael Coney

Notable Quotes

"The election-day statutes do not set a deadline for ballot receipt." — majority opinion

The dissent's theory "depends on the fictional premise that hundreds of legislators shared a unified private view of how the statute should apply."

When a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure is on point, a federal court bypasses Erie's inquiry altogether.

Stories

Supreme Court upholds counting of mail ballots that arrive after Election Day

Rule Changes

Wrote the majority opinion

If you mail your ballot by Election Day in about 15 states, it still counts when it lands a few days late. The Supreme Court said so on June 29, voting 5-4 to uphold a Mississippi law that gives mail ballots a five-day grace period.

Updated Jun 29

Supreme Court bars private lawsuits under the 1940 mutual fund law

Rule Changes

Wrote the 6-3 opinion reversing the lower courts

For decades, investors could sue a mutual fund directly to undo contracts that broke federal fund law. On June 11, 2026, the Supreme Court closed that door. By a 6-3 vote, the justices ruled that ordinary investors have no right to sue under the Investment Company Act of 1940, the law that governs mutual funds and similar pooled investments.

Updated Jun 11

Federal rules trump state malpractice barriers

Rule Changes

Authored majority opinion

For decades, more than half of U.S. states required injured patients to obtain expert affidavits before filing medical malpractice lawsuits—a screening mechanism designed to filter frivolous claims. On January 20, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that these state requirements don't apply when patients sue in federal court.

Updated May 22

Supreme Court leaves Atkins protections intact in Alabama death row case

Rule Changes

Pivotal vote to dismiss

Joseph Clifton Smith has been on Alabama's death row since 1997. His five IQ tests came back at 72, 74, 74, 75, and 78. On Thursday, the Supreme Court dismissed Alabama's appeal in Hamm v. Smith, letting stand a lower-court finding that Smith is intellectually disabled and cannot be executed.

Updated May 21