(Washington, DC) The Judicial Crisis Network today launched a ten-day, six-figure digital ad campaign in response to the line of questioning that Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) directed at Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals nominee Amy Coney Barrett regarding her Catholic faith.
Feinstein suggested during the confirmation hearing that Barrett might be disqualified to serve as a judge because of her faith.
She highlighted an article that Barrett wrote in 1998 entitled “Catholic Judges in Capital Cases,” which appeared in the Marquette Law Review. She concluded that a Catholic judge, who is a conscientious objector to the death penalty, should recuse himself or herself if asked to order the execution of someone found guilty in a capital offense case.
For Feinstein, the concern is how Barrett would apply Roe v. Wade as a Catholic.
“When you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you,” Feinstein said. “And that’s of concern when you come to big issues that large numbers of people have fought for years in this country.”
“It is never appropriate for a judge to apply their personal convictions, whether it derives from faith or personal conviction,” Barrett said in response
“This is going to be known as Feinstein’s Folly. Her line of questioning reeked of ‘No Catholics Need Apply,’ while ignoring Professor Barrett’s stellar qualifications, experience, and fierce commitment to defending the Constitution. Feinstein was fundamentally at odds with our constitutional commitment to religious freedom, not to mention politically tone-deaf,” Carrie Severino, Judicial Crisis Network’s chief counsel and policy director, said in a released statement. More than one out of every five Americans is Catholic, and that includes a growing Latino population. A nominee’s faith should have nothing to do with his or her qualifications to be a federal judge. Period.”
Feinstein was not alone in questioning Barrett’s faith. The ad also highlights U.S. Senator Dick Durbin who asked, “You refer to Orthodox Catholics, do you consider yourself an orthodox Catholic?”
During the same hearing, U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-MN) questioned Barrett’s judgment simply for speaking at an event sponsored by Alliance Defending Freedom, a group Southern Poverty Law Center labels a hate group due to their support of traditional marriage.
Watch the ad below:
