Notre Dame Law graduates, now Arizona lawyers talk Amy Coney Barrett SCOTUS pick
PHOENIX - President Donald Trump announced his pick to fill the ninth Supreme Court seat Sept. 26 after the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died just over a week ago on Sept. 18.
Amy Coney Barrett was nominated in a special White House Ceremony saying she's "truly humbled by the prospect" while addressing the crowd of elected officials, including senators who are expected to vote on her nomination in the coming weeks.
Barrett has left her impact on at least two Arizonans who graduated from the University of Notre Dame's Law School and attended the program when Barrett was a professor there.
They both practice law in the Valley.
One of them is running to be the next Maricopa County Attorney. Democrat Julie Gunnigle is running against incumbent Allister Adel, a Republican.
"She was a person who loomed large in law school. She frequently did seminars over the course of the semester that we were in and in fact, she was the professor of the year, the year I graduated," Gunnigle said.
Long before Gunnigle joined the race to be Maricopa County Attorney, she studied law at the University of Notre Dame. As did Thomas Galvin, now an attorney for Rose Law Group.
University of Notre Dame is where Barrett earned "Distinguished Professor of the Year" three times.
"We are getting a very smart, dedicated, accomplished and humble judge. Someone who appreciates the law, loves the constitution and also recognizes that she's serving all of the people," Galvin explained.
Gunnigle feels a bit differently about the nomination, saying, "The biggest lesson that she taught me is that a person can be kind and civil while still embracing an ideology that regards some individuals of fewer rights and less freedom."
Known as a reliable conservative, Barrett's political and religious views never showed in her teaching, Galvin says, adding, "Professor Barrett has a reputation for not bringing any of her personal feelings, so to speak, into the room, especially her politics."
Gunnigle says she has respect for Barrett as a professor but calls her an extremist pick for the Supreme Court.
"In Amy Coney Barrett's America, we'll have women who will be prosecuted for abortions, we'll have Americans who are stripped of their healthcare coverage during a pandemic, it will not be assured that we can marry who we love and unions will be gutted," Gunnigle said.
In Arizona, abortion is a hot button issue, as it is in most states. Here, Arizona has abortion laws that call for a 24-hour waiting period.
Maricopa County Attorney, Allister Adel, says if Roe v. Wade is ever overturned, the law must be upheld, but she does not believe women will be prosecuted for abortions.
"Show me where the law is on that because that is just absolutely nonsensical," Adel said.
For now, opinions differ on whether or not the pick should be made until after the election. "It's obviously in the president's right to make these nominations, that's part of his job. I'm actually really glad to see that it's a woman that he's nominating and this is his third nomination. That's unprecedented," Adel said.
Gunnigle says with days dwindling until Election Day, she feels voters should choose who gets the Supreme Court pick to replace Justice Ginsburg.
If Barrett is confirmed by the Senate, the Supreme Court shifts to a six-three conservative majority.