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Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson: Service and Inspiration 185became a professor at Notre Dame Law School. Barrett was given the %u201cDistinguished Professor of the Year%u201d award three times.2Barrett was nominated by President Trump for a position on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and she was confirmed by a vote of 55 to 43 in 2017. In September 2020, following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, President Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. She faced questions from Democrats regarding the impact of her Catholic faith in rendering judicial opinions.5 Barrett was confirmed by a vote of 52 to 48.6Justice Barrett%u2019s conservative judicial philosophy emphasizes the history and language of the Constitution. Justice Barrett has voted with conservatives almost all of the time. She joined with the majority in Dobbs v. Jackson Women%u2019s Health Organization,7the decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.8 In addition, she joined the majority opinions in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina9 and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College,10 which rejected affirmative action programs in higher education. However, Barrett joined with liberal justices and some of her conservative colleagues in a technical opinion rejecting challenges to the Affordable Care Act.11 She also joined with liberal justices and Chief Justice John Roberts in temporarily blocking a lower court order that would have prevented the regulation of ghost guns.12In an interview at the University of Minnesota in 2023, Justice Barrett was asked if she enjoyed being on the Supreme Court. She responded, %u201cEnjoying myself isn%u2019t quite the right word. . . . But it%u2019s a privilege to serve, and I have no regrets about undertaking the service.%u201d13 When asked about the real-life consequences of the Court%u2019s decisions, she said, %u201cIt%u2019s your head not your heart that has to make the decisions, but you should never lose sight of the fact that your decisions affect real people, and you should never lose your heart.%u201d14Ketanji Brown Jackson was born in Washington, DC, and grew up in Miami, Florida. Her parents taught in public schools, and her father completed law school at the University of Miami. His law books sat beside her coloring books on the dining room table.15 In her senior high school yearbook, she wrote, %u201cI want to go into law and eventually have a judicial appointment.16 She was a strong student and wanted to go to Harvard, but a guidance counselor told her not to set her %u201csights so high.%u201d17 Jackson was accepted Harvard University (where she was paired with Matt Damon in drama class as a scene partner18), graduating magna cum laude with a BA in government, and then attended Harvard Law School, where she was the supervising editor of the Harvard Law Review and graduated cum laude in 1996.After law school, Jackson clerked for two federal court judges before clerking for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer (whose seat she would eventually fill upon his retirement). Her fellow clerks called her %u201ccareful, thoughtful, open, honest, and a natural leader.%u201d19 Throughout her professional career, Jackson has held several roles, both in private practice and public service, that highlight her commitment to criminal justice and the rights of the accused, including serving as an assistant special counsel for the U.S. Sentencing Commission, a bipartisan and independent federal agency that addresses disparities in federal sentencing.During her confirmation hearing, Republican senator John Cornyn asked, %u201cWhat role does race play, Judge Jackson, in the kind of judge you have been and the kind of judge you will be?%u201d to which Jackson responded that race %u201cwould be inappropriate to %u00a9 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. For review purposes only. Do not distribute.