Kare11
SCOTUS Justice Amy Coney Barrett speaks in U of M lecture series
Justice Barrett outlined her judicial philosophy and made news by offering support for a Supreme Court Code of Ethics.
MINNEAPOLIS — Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett appeared Monday on the University of Minnesota campus as a participant in the Robert A. Stein ’61 Lecture Series, where she spoke for an hour and a half about her judicial philosophy, legal background and role on the nation’s highest court.
Early in the lecture, Barrett also made national news by saying she supported a Code of Ethics for the Supreme Court, following reporting by ProPublica that documented the relationship between fellow Justice Clarence Thomas and top Republican donors.
“I think it would be a good idea for us to do it, particularly so that we can communicate to the public exactly what it is that we’re doing, in a clearer way than perhaps we have been able to do so far,” Barrett said. “I will say this: There is no lack of consensus among the justices… that we should and do hold ourselves to the highest standards, highest ethical standards possible.”
The lecture series, moderated by former law school Dean Robert Stein, has featured both conservative and liberal justices dating back to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2014.
“We value both the pursuit of knowledge and the exchange of ideas as fundamental pillars of our society,” University of Minnesota interim President Jeff Ettinger told the audience at packed Northrop Auditorium to open the event. “This lecture epitomizes our commitment to these values.”
Former President Donald Trump appointed Barrett in 2020, solidifying a conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court that has since overturned the constitutional right to abortion and ruled that affirmative action violated the Fourteenth Amendment, among other decisions. At the same time, Barrett joined liberal justices in a ruling upholding restrictions on “ghost guns” this year and pushed back on the narrative that the court has overturned more precedent than previous courts.
“I don’t think it’s empirically true to say that we’ve overturned a lot of precedent, but we have overturned precedent, and every court does,” Barrett said. “Overruling precedent is not something to be done lightly. But the court’s own guidelines, that it’s always followed for centuries, recognize that there are times when it’s the court’s duty to do so.”
Barrett did not specifically discuss the details of any high-profile cases in Monday’s lecture, although she more broadly outlined her judicial philosophy of “originalism” — meaning she interprets the Constitution as written and not necessarily as an evolving document. She cited the influence of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, whom she clerked for in the late 1990s.
“Justice Scalia was very well-known for his commitment to both originalism and constitutional interpretation, and textualism and the interpretation of statutes. And I would say you could boil both of those judicial philosophies down to the proposition that the text is the law and the text controls,” Barrett said. “And I share that philosophy.”
Barrett’s appearance at Northrop on Monday was met with protests both outside and inside the auditorium. A group of a half-dozen protestors in the second deck, carrying signs referencing Barrett’s ruling on abortion, shouted “not the court, not the state, people must decide their fate” before police escorted them out of the building. The lecture then continued without interruption.
Student groups had collected online signatures in an attempt to disinvite Barrett from campus, saying that “inviting Justice Barrett to the UMN-TC campus is a backhanded and hypocritical move from an institution that raves about ‘diversity’ and welcoming of ‘an exceptional class of students that is one of the largest and the most diverse in campus history.'”
Professor Stein, the moderator, defended the decision to bring Barrett to campus.
“It’s what a university should be, to explore different points of view, and I’m disappointed they couldn’t stay and hear her explanation of the cases as well,” Stein said. “Hopefully this puts a personality on the court for people and also helps them understand why the court does what it does.”
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11’s newscasts. You’ll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist:
A criminal complaint alleges the suspect was driving nearly 100 mph at the time of the crash.
MINNEAPOLIS — Criminal charges have been filed against a St. Paul man in connection with a multi-vehicle crash Wednesday night in Minneapolis that left one person dead and several others injured.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said Talon Covie-Carderell Walker, 29, is now charged with one count of criminal vehicular homicide.
According to a criminal complaint filed in the case, prosecutors believe Walker was driving a Chevy Avalanche pickup truck at high speeds when he started a chain-reaction crash on the I-94 exit to Dunwoody Boulevard on Wednesday evening. A total of seven vehicles were involved.
The State Patrol said Natalie Gubbay, 26, who was driving one of the other vehicles, died at the scene. Several others were hospitalized following the crash, including Walker. Two children were also among those injured.
The complaint alleges Walker was driving nearly 100 mph at the time of the crash. Investigators also said an open bottle of liquor was found in Walker’s vehicle. Results of a blood alcohol test are pending, according to the complaint, but investigators said Walker has previous driving convictions and lost his license in 2021.
Industry experts say several airlines were already waiting for deliveries of Boeing airplanes before the strike started.
MINNEAPOLIS — This week union workers who build planes for Boeing rejected a new contract deal.
64% of the 32,000 machinists voted against the deal in another major setback for the company. The strike that has halted most of Boeing’s aircraft production for over a month will continue.
The strike is further delaying deliveries for many Boeing customers who are already dealing with production delays.
It could soon have a big impact across the country, from concerns over plane safety to the cost of flying.
Hassan Shahidi with the Flight Safety Foundation says many airlines were already waiting for Boeing airplanes before the strike started.
“Prior to the strike there were already challenges,” Shahidi says. “This strike is exacerbating the situation even further.”
Shahidi says some of the airlines may have aging airplanes that will have to stay in use longer than the companies had planned for, but he argues that is a minor issue and he is not worried about passenger safety.
“All aircraft that are flying are certified by the FAA, are airworthy and safe,” Shahidi says.
He argues a much larger issue is how the strike will impact the airline industry’s plans to grow in the coming years.
He says most of the orders for new Boeing airplanes are from airlines that are expanding to meet passenger demand.
“To have other companies trying to come in and meet that gap is going to be challenging in terms of both supplies, labor and processes that are going to be needed to produce the highest quality of airplanes,” Shahidi says.
According to Delta’s website, the airline recently ordered 100 Boeing 737’s with an option to buy 30 more.
Those planes are scheduled to be delivered sometime next year and the company says some of those airplanes will be deployed to MSP.
KARE 11 reached out to Delta to see if the Boeing strike could affect the delivery of those planes, and whether the strike could impact Delta’s ability to add new flights in the coming years, but we haven’t heard back from the company at this time.
Sun Country says their entire fleet is made up of 43 Boeing airplanes.
A company spokesperson says all of Sun Country’s airplanes are “mid-life aircraft” meaning they are purchased used from other companies.
This spokesperson says this unique business model will insulate Sun Country from the impacts of the Boeing strike, and the company won’t see a shortage of airplanes anytime soon.
KARE 11 also reached out to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport to see if the airport and local travelers will see any impacts of the Boeing strike.
An MSP spokesperson sent KARE-11 the following statement:
“We do not anticipate any immediate impacts at MSP from the Boeing strike. While a strike could push back delivery of aircraft to airlines and lead to future schedule adjustments by those airlines, any impacts would not be expected to affect MSP any more than other airports across the country.”
The victim’s wife identified their neighbor as the likely suspect following ongoing disputes.
MINNEAPOLIS — A shooting that followed months of alleged harassment from one neighbor to another has escalated to a public sparring session between the Minneapolis Police Department and City Council.
According to court documents, MPD was called to a hospital in the city for reports of a gunshot victim on Oct. 23. Upon arrival, the officers learned a man, identified as Davis Maturi, had been shot and was transported to the hospital from his home on Grand Avenue in Minneapolis.
The criminal complaint in the case said Maturi’s wife told officers that their neighbor, identified as 54-year-old John Sawchak, “almost certainly” was the person who shot her husband, alleging that Sawchak had harassed and threatened the couple for months.
Mrs. Maturi allegedly told officers that her husband was pruning a tree near their property line on that day.
“Touch my tree again and I’ll kill you,” the suspect allegedly told the victim, according to the complaint.
The charging documents lists seven prior police records of incidents between the neighbors before the October shooting, including several allegations of threats and racism by Sawchak against Maturi.
Maturi remains hospitalized with a fractured spine. Sawchak is not currently in police custody.
A letter from ranking members of the Minneapolis City Council to Mayor Jacob Frey shows anger and blame being directed at the MPD for allegedly failing to act on Maturi’s numerous complaints against Sawchak before the shooting, and failing to arrest him immediately after the shooting.
“MPD still has not arrested the suspect despite charges from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for Attempted Murder, 1st Degree Assault, Stalking, and Harassment and a request from the HCAO for a warrant with $1 million bail. MPD told the HCAO they do not intend to execute the warrant ‘for reasons of officer safety,’” said the letter from the Minneapolis City Council.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara scheduled a news conference on Friday afternoon to respond to the council’s accusations.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office confirmed Friday that it filed charges against Sawchak.
“After Mr. Sawchak shot Mr. Moturi on Oct. 23, the case was submitted to our office on Oct. 24. We immediately charged Mr. Sawchak with attempted murder, first-degree assault, and felony harassment and stalking, enhanced for racial bias,” said a statement from the office.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings