Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett delivers remarks at the 2025 Seventh Circuit Judicial Conference at the Swissotel Chicago on Aug. 18, 2025. (Breanne Deppisch/Fox News Digital)
As the youngest justice on the bench, Barrett's ideology over her nearly five-term tenure on the Supreme Court has been the subject of furious speculation, and at times, just plain fury.
Conservatives have panned her record as more moderate than that of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, for whom she once clerked. Liberals have been incensed by her reluctance to side more consistently with the court’s left-leaning justices on abortion, federal powers and other seminal cases.
Barrett’s voting record is more moderate than Scalia’s, according to a June New York Times data analysis that found she plays an "increasingly central role" on the court.
Barrett used her time on Monday to implore the group of judges to maintain a sense of grace, decorum, and respect for colleagues, despite the inevitable, heated disagreements that will occur.
The warm, if somewhat lofty, sense of idealism on display is one that is expected to be echoed further in her forthcoming memoir, "Listening to the Law: Reflections on the Court and Constitution," slated for publication next month.
The theme of Monday’s remarks, to the extent there was one, stressed working toward common goals, accepting ideological differences and embracing disagreement while keeping a broader perspective — a point echoed by Barrett and earlier speakers, who cited David Brooks repeatedly in praising purpose-driven public service.
The upside of so many hours spent in disagreement, Barrett said, is learning how to strike that balance.
"We know how to argue well," she said. "We also know how to argue without letting it consume relationships."
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Justice Amy Coney Barrett attends U.S. President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 04, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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It's unclear if, or to what extent, Barrett's schedule may have changed at the eleventh hour — a reflection of the many demands placed on sitting Supreme Court justices, whose schedules are often subject to change or cancellation at a moment's notice.
The 7th Circuit did not immediately respond to Fox News's questions as to what, if anything, had changed on Barrett's end.
Questions swirled as she exited. Had she planned longer remarks? Was the agenda misread? Or is she saving details for her memoir and looming book tour, as one reporter suggested?
Her appearance, full of irony, left observers with more questions than answers. Whether she addresses them in the weeks ahead remains to be seen.
Breanne Deppisch is a national politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI, and other national news.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/justice-barrett-teases-new-memoir-abrupt-conference-exit