Amy Coney Barrett takes on court ethics, collegiality in University Minnesota talk briefly marred by protesters

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett talked about ethics, national unity and literary and legal influences during an event at the University of Minnesota's Northrop auditorium that was briefly interrupted by a handful of protesters.

As Coney Barrett was about to discuss the legislative origins of former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's commitment to federalism, a small group of protesters in the front of the first balcony stood and began chanting, "Not the court, not the state, the people will decide their fate."

Within a minute, the protesters were removed from Northrop and former U Law School Dean Robert Stein resumed the conversation, saying, "We really are Minnesota nice; we don't treat other people like that very often. We really are glad you're here."

That was the overall tone of the 90-minute event that would qualify as exceedingly gentle questioning. Stein, who funds the lecture series, did not press Coney Barrett with difficult follow-up questions on controversial matters such as a code of ethics. She was not paid for her speech.

As the protesters chanted in the balcony, Coney Barrett sat silently on the stage in her fitted beige pantsuit, neither reacting to nor mentioning the chants among the 2,000 spectators that included numerous judges, justices, lawyers and students at the ticketed, but free public event.

Stein picked up his questioning by asking whether the high court was what she thought it would be before she was nominated by former President Donald Trump as a successor to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in fall 2020.

She said the work can be challenging because majority opinions must be agreed to by a majority of the nine justices and don't represent just the opinions of the author.

Stein asked whether the court should adopt a code of conduct, a prospect that has been widely discussed following numerous revelations about lavish gifts accepted but not disclosed by Justice Clarence Thomas.

Coney Barrett said it's a good idea so the court can "express what we are already doing," which she said is holding themselves to "the highest ethical standards possible."

The justice said she couldn't guess on the timing of a code, but repeated that "All nine justices are very committed to the highest ethical standard."

Stein's gentle approach afforded Coney Barrett time to share a succession of slim anecdotes and quips. In comparing herself to her mentor, the late Justice Antonin Scalia, she likened herself to a menu item with a flavor intensity of one out of three jalapeños, while he was more fiery.

Among the biggest lessons imparted by Scalia, Coney Barrett said he told his law clerks to make an unbreakable commitment to eating dinner at home with family.

Stein asked about collegiality among the court's four female members. Coney Barrett said it's delightful to have the companionship on the court, but "I don't think that my perspective or anybody's perspective is different by being a woman."

Stein asked Coney Barrett about being a mother with young children and how she balances that with her work. She said her days are much like any working mom's and that four of her seven children remain in grade school or high school. "The juxtaposition can be funny," she said, noting that her 11-year-old son's musical choice meant she had the earworm "Who Let the Dogs Out" in her head as she entered the courthouse one day.

Protesting the heavily secured event outside Northrop were an estimated 200 people, who oppose Coney Barrett's position on the court as well as decisions she's participated in including the Dobbs ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Protesters could not be heard or seen from inside the building.

Stein asked Coney Barrett what advice she'd give to law students. The former Notre Dame Law School professor said, "Take advantage of all of your opportunities to learn about lots of things and to challenge yourselves. Expose yourself to ideas you might not think you agree with."

Among other tidbits, Coney Barrett said Ernest Hemingway's work influenced her spare, linear approach to legal writing. She said the legal profession could be more welcoming to underrepresented groups if professors, judges and lawyers did more mentoring.

In summation, Coney Barrett said what's striking about the United States is that "we are a huge country" in terms of population and land mass, living under a large tent and "the Constitution is what unites us. And so we have to figure out a way to find our common ground and persuade one another and see one another's humanity."