A Connecticut Supreme Court nominee who in 2017 signed a letter in support of Amy Comey Barrett for a federal appeals court judgeship said she now regrets her decision, The Associated Press reports.
Sandra Slack Glover said she wouldn’t have signed the letter had she known that Barrett would later as a Supreme Court justice vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Glover’s comments came during the federal prosecutor’s state Supreme Court confirmation hearing before the legislature’s Judiciary Committee.
Glover was nominated by Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont.
IN OTHER NEWS: Lawsuit claims Rudy Giuliani 'took Viagra constantly' and was recorded demanding sex from employee
“I’m not going to demonize her,” Glover said of Barrett. “But when I look at that letter now ... I’m no longer comfortable with some of those statements.
“But I also believed, clearly naively at this point, I thought there were guardrails,” Glover said, noting the practice of respecting legal precedents.
“And I thought the lower court judges were constrained. I thought the Supreme Court was constrained. And I was wrong. And looking back and knowing what I now know, I shouldn’t have signed it.”
Glover, a staunch supporter of abortion rights, was among 34 U.S. Supreme Court law clerks in 1998 along with Barrett who in 2017 signed a letter to leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of Barrett’s nomination to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.
Barrett in 1998 served as a clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia while Glover served in the same role for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
The letter Glover signed asserted that Barrett was “fully qualified” to be a federal appeals judge.
“Professor Barrett is a woman of remarkable intellect and character,” the letter said. “She is eminently qualified for the job. This view is unanimous — every law clerk from October Term 1998 has joined this letter.
“Based on our observations, we came to respect Professor Barrett’s conscientious work ethic, her respect for the law, and her remarkable legal abilities,” it said. “She conducted herself with professionalism, grace, and integrity.”
