Why Amy Coney Barrett May Have Sat Out Huge Supreme Court Case
(Newsweek | May 22, 2025) U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett was the lone jurist on the High Court who did not participate in a ruling that blocked creation of the first taxpayer-funded religious charter school in the nation.
The resulting 4-4 split decision reached on Thursday upholds a ruling by the Oklahoma Supreme Court to invalidate the state charter board’s approval of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School without setting a national precedent.
Justices are not required to provide a reason for their recusal from a case. Barrett did not explain hers, but she is close friends and used to teach with Notre Dame law professor Nicole Garnett, who has been an adviser to the school, according to the Associated Press (AP) …
… In a statement to Newsweek, George Theoharis, teaching and leadership professor at Syracuse University, said the deadlocked ruling leaves many questions unanswered. “If the court allows the specific teaching of religion (forbidden by current law), what other parts of the law will religious and other charter schools no longer need to comply with? Can they reject students they do not want to educate?”
“Will the court wrestle with families that are not Catholic sending their kids to this charter school and will they get to object to the teaching of religion?”