Justice Barrett’s Remote Arguments Yield Only Hints of Approach

Justice Amy Coney Barrett was direct when asking questions in her first Supreme Court oral arguments that yielded only a partial snapshot of how she might handle them in the future because they were conducted remotely.

The first set of arguments is usually a chance for litigators, court observers, and the public to see how aggressive new justices will be during questioning and how their presence will affect the dynamic of the nine-member court.

Since May, however, arguments have been held over the phone due to social distancing around the pandemic. The remote format in which the justices take turns ...