Indiana Judge Among Finalists for Nomination to Supreme Court

Katie Simpson

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Amy Coney Barrett is on President Donald Trump's list of potential Supreme Court nominees.
*Courtesy University of Notre Dame*

President Donald Trump is expected to announce his nominee for Justice Anthony Kennedy’s soon-to-be vacant Supreme Court seat on Monday.

Former Notre Dame law professor, Judge Amy Coney Barrett is one of three finalists for the nomination. Brian Paul is an appellate lawyer who argues cases before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals where Barrett serves. He says she is a strong candidate for the position.

"[President] Trump is, as far as I can tell, looking for someone who is young, who is smart, and who is tough, and she fits all of those qualities," says Paul.

Paul also describes Barrett as conservative.

"She favors the philosophy of the justice on the Supreme Court that she clerked for, Justice [Antonin] Scalia, which means she is an originalist and a textualist."

Paul says choosing a woman could be a good political move for Trump. Barret would be the first female Supreme Court Justice appointed by a Republican president since 1981.

"I think she’s an excellent candidate," Paul says. "She has all of the qualities that I think President Trump is looking for in a nominee."

Justice Kennedy will step down from the Supreme Court on July 31.

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