Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Amy Coney Barrett
A nominee to Connecticut's highest court said Monday that she was "naive" to have supported U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett and that she wrongly "thought there were guardrails" that would have kept the Supreme Court "constrained" by its own precedents.
Sandra Slack Glover, the appellate chief for the U.S. attorney of Connecticut was nominated in April by Gov. Ned Lamont (D) as a justice of the state Supreme Court. If confirmed, Glover would succeed Maria Araujo Kahn, who resigned to become a federal judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.
Glover, 52, is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School and a former clerk for two high-profile judges: Judge Richard Posner, legal scholar and judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
During Glover's confirmation hearing on Monday, she was asked about the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
"I support a woman's right to choose, full stop," Glover answered.
She then used Justice Samuel Alito's own words in describing her take on the Dobbs decision:
"Speaking as an attorney, Dobbs was wrong and egregiously so. Speaking as a woman, it was horrifying. All of us should have a constitutional right to control our reproductive freedom and our bodies. My belief in this is firm and unwavering. One important hope I can offer those who, like me, are scared by the erosion of our rights, is that thanks to you and your colleagues, Connecticut law and the Connecticut Constitution guarantee more expansive rights than those found in the federal Constitution today."
The colloquy led to questions about a position Glover once took in support of Barrett.
Glover and Barrett were colleagues during the Court's 1998-1999 term when Glover clerked for O'Connor and Barrett clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia. When then-president Donald Trump nominated Barrett to the 7th Circuit, a bipartisan group of legal professionals penned a letter of endorsement to which Glover added her signature.
During Glover's own confirmation hearing before the Connecticut legislature's Judiciary Committee on Monday, several members of the Democratic majority pressed Glover about her decision to add her name to the letter. Glover answered that she has "learned a lot in the last six years about our country and about now-Justice Barrett" and that she should not have signed the letter that led to the eradication of abortion rights.
"But I also believed, clearly naively at this point, I thought there were guardrails," Glover responded. "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 added that she would not "demonize" Barrett, but said she was no longer comfortable with some of the statements included in the letter of support.
The committee did not vote on Glover's nomination Monday evening, and no date has been fixed for the vote.
"Sandra Slack Glover is highly respected within Connecticut's legal community and around the country as an accomplished appellate lawyer," Lamont said in a written statement. "Throughout her career, both in private practice and public service, she has demonstrated a respect for the rule of law and a commitment to ensuring that justice is served fairly."
Glover was unusually blunt in discussing her take on hot-button legal issues. In addition to calling Dobbs "egregiously wrong," Glover said that the Supreme Court erred in its 6-3 ruling striking down New York's restrictions on carrying firearms in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association vs. Bruen.