Overview

• Leaked internal notes show Barrett initially opposed hearing Dobbs v. Jackson but ultimately joined the majority to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.
• A New York Times–cited analysis finds she sided with liberal justices on 82 percent of nonunanimous decisions in her second term, up from 39 percent in her first.
• Barrett’s growing number of separate opinions criticize hard-line originalist reasoning by Justices Thomas and Alito, reflecting her more deliberate judicial style.
• Conservative activists and some Trump allies have derided her as a “DEI hire” and publicly lamented her departures from presumed conservative positions.
• Other court observers warn that fluctuations in short-term voting patterns can exaggerate a leftward shift and note that Barrett remains broadly conservative in major rulings.