Barrett, Sotomayor Emphasize Harmony on Heels of Public Chiding

Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Amy Coney Barrett stressed the need for collegiality in a joint appearance just days after the more junior justice appeared to publicly chide her liberal colleagues for their tone in a concurring opinion.

Speaking at George Washington University on the importance of civics education and community involvement on Tuesday, the duo lamented the bitter polarization reflected in public discourse and touted the court’s efforts to navigate their differences.

“We don’t speak in a hot way in our conferences, " Barrett said, referring to the private conference as which the justices discuss their cases. “We keep it, even when it’s heated, on the page of our opinions.”

Last week, Barrett wrote “the Court should turn the national temperature down, not up,” in her solo opinion noting that all nine justices agreed that states can’t remove presidential candidates off their ballots under the Constitution’s so-called insurrection clause.

Sotomayor said “occasionally” a justice might say something that is seen as hurtful. “It’s just human nature.”

“Generally one of our senior colleagues will call the person who was perceived to maybe have gotten a little close, and tell them, maybe you should think of an apology or patching it up a little bit,” Sotomayor said. “It happens in writing. Occasionally, someone writes something that an individual feels is offensive,” and not just explanatory,” Sotomayor said.

The discussion comes as confidence in the Supreme Court is at historic lows and in the middle of a term packed with politically charged issues like the scope of presidential immunity, criminal charges against Jan. 6 rioters, and the role of social media in our political discourse.

“The battles that are being waged through litigation are often the battles that are being waged in the society at large,” Barrett said.

When there is dysfunction among the branches of government, “the citizenry is going to look to the courts to solve problems that it really shouldn’t,” Sotomayor said.

This was the second recent joint appearance by Sotomayor, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009, and Barrett, an appointee of President Donald Trump in 2020. They appeared on a panel about how to “disagree better” at a National Governors Association conference in Washington last month.