If confirmed to the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett could culminate a decadeslong quest to ensure a conservative imprint on American law, affecting the role of government, the rights of individuals and the interpretation of such long-debated constitutional terms as equal protection, due process of law and cruel and unusual punishment. Most Supreme Court appointees since 1969—15 of 19—were nominated by Republicans, but conservatives have fallen short of fully displacing numerous progressive legal doctrines that took hold...

Source: Wall Street Journal September 26, 2020 21:22 UTC