logo
Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

Is a relative lack of courtroom experience unusual for a Supreme Court justice?

By Esther Tsvayg
NO

Amy Coney Barrett's resume, long on academic experience but short on legal practice or trial judging, is not unusual among her new colleagues on the Supreme Court.

A 2013 review concluded that "the Roberts Court justices spent less time in the private practice of law, in trial judging and as elected politicians than any previous court." The vast majority of earlier justices have had experience in private practice, but there appears to be no fixed route to the highest court. Nine of the seventeen men who have served as Chief Justice were appointed without prior judicial experience.

Justice Barrett spent two years as a practicing attorney. On her nomination disclosure form, she recalled "only three significant litigated matters" that she "personally handled." She taught law for 15 years before her 2017 appointment to the federal bench as an appeals court judge.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
FACT BRIEF BY
facebook
twitter
email
email