Trump Judicial Nominee Faces the 'Dogma' Brigade

At first glance, Senator Dianne Feinstein’s criticism of Amy Coney Barrett, a nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, sounds like a nasty swipe at the prospective judge’s Catholic faith. “Dogma lives loudly within you,” Feinstein said, even though Barrett had earlier averred that “it is never appropriate for a judge to apply their personal convictions, whether it derives from faith or personal conviction.”

On second glance, Feinstein might seem to have a point. The Alliance for Justice, a group dedicated to stopping conservative judicial nominees and helping progressive ones, has issued a report on Barrett that purports to document that she is a conservative extremist who would bend the law to coincide with her religious views. That report seems to have influenced Democratic Senators Dick Durbin and Mazie Hirono, too, judging from their questioning of Barrett at her confirmation hearing this week.