There is little chance that U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett will recuse herself from hearing a case about LGBTQ+ rights due before the justices on December 5.
Former members of the faith group People of Praise had called on Barrett to step away from the case because of her continued affiliation with the Christian organization.
In 303 Creative LLC v Elenis, the Court is being asked to rule on whether a Colorado anti-discrimination law violated the right to free speech of a Christian web developer, Lorie Smith, who is opposed to same-sex marriage on religious grounds.
She owns a graphic design firm and wants to expand her business to include wedding websites but does not want to design wedding websites for same-sex couples.
Smith has said the law compels her to "create messages that go against my deeply held beliefs" because she is not legally permitted to refuse same-sex couples who seek to avail of her services.
A group of former members of People of Praise have called on Barrett to recuse herself from hearing 303 Creative LLC v Elenis and cited her previous former role on the board of Trinity Schools Inc., a group of Christian private schools that (according to several media reports) effectively barred admission to children of same-sex parents.
It is also understood that openly gay teachers were not welcome, the Associated Press (AP) reported in 2020.
People of Praise leader Craig Lent told the South Bend Tribune in 2018 that the group believes that sex should occur only within marriage, and that marriage should be only between a man and a woman.
In late 2020, in response to a request from NBC News, Trinity Schools said it "does not unlawfully discriminate with respect to race, color, gender, national origin, age, disability, or other legally protected classifications under applicable law, with respect to the administration of its programs."
Newsweek has contacted People of Praise and the Supreme Court for comment.
Paul Collins, a legal studies and political science professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, told Newsweek on Tuesday that it was unlikely Barrett would recuse herself.
"There is essentially no chance Justice Barrett will recuse herself from the case based on the calls from former People of Praise members to do so," Collins said.
"The reason is that the allegations of a conflict are too broad to be meaningful and could apply to membership in a wide array of religious organizations that would effectively preclude many justices from ever hearing cases about any issues that remotely involve religion," he went on.
Collins also told Newsweek he believed the justices would side with the web developer.
The Court now has a 6-3 conservative majority after Barrett's addition to the nation's highest court in 2020, succeeding the late liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
"In terms of its likely outcome, I believe this case will further demonstrate how the Court's ultra-conservative majority is hostile to LGBTQ+ rights," Collins said.
"With Justice Barret in the majority, I expect the Court to rule in favor of the religious rights of the Christian website developer, and against the state of Colorado," he said.
The Court will hear oral arguments on December 5 but a ruling may not be announced for some months.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more
