Former Indiana chief justice weighs in on Barrett as possible Supreme Court justice

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — There could soon be two Supreme Court justices with ties to the Hoosier state.

According to numerous Republican Party sources, President Donald Trump plans to nominate Amy Coney Barrett to be the next Supreme Court justice.

Barrett lives in South Bend and is a professor at Notre Dame University. She and Chief Justice John Roberts grew up in northern Indiana. Barrett also sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the seventh circuit in Chicago.

If chosen, Barrett would become the sixth conservative justice on the court compared to the three justices selected by Democratic Party presidents.

Randall Shepard, former Indiana chief justice, said people should not get too hung up on that. He said while it’s common for Democratic Party appointees to vote for more liberal positions and Republican Party appointees to vote the opposite, it’s far from certain.

“There have certainly been people in more recent years, appointees over the last 10 or 20 years, who don’t turn out, and, hallelujah, we hope that people are always in a position where they rethink issues and listen to the arguments that are made to them,” Shepard said.

Shepard said he met Barrett about a year and a half ago when the two were panelists at a moot court championship at Valparaiso University’s Law School.

He said, based on what he knows about her, he believes she would do well in the highest court in the country.

“Everybody can have his or her own opinion about how you fit a nomination into the flow of the national discussion. What I will say is that I know her well enough that most people, if they spent some time chatting with her, would come to the conclusion that she is a decent human being, and a really smart person and someone who is committed to public service.”

The president said he will make his announcement official at 5 p.m. Saturday.