Barrett Flashes Independence as Top Court Backs Religious Rights

Amy Coney Barrett is starting to show an independent streak.

The newest U.S. Supreme Court justice joined three liberal colleagues late Thursday in an opinion that said Alabama can’t execute a convicted murderer unless he can have his pastor by his side. That came less than a week after she took a somewhat nuanced stance on California’s Covid-19 restrictions on religious services.

Together, the votes offer early indications that the Donald Trump appointee may be harder to pigeonhole than some predicted during her rushed Senate confirmation process in October. Barrett succeeded the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, giving the ...