On October 27, 2020, the United States Senate confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court by a vote of 52–48. In just her first month on the job, Coney Barrett has already made her impact felt on the United States Supreme Court. Just last month, she played a key role in overturning New York’s COVID-19 restrictions on religious gatherings. The vote turned out to be a 5-4 ruling in favor of the churches. The ruling had no immediate impact, meaning that the restrictions may not be lifted right away, but Coney Barrett’s immediate alignment with the other conservative Justice’s removed any doubt that her nomination, that was pushed through just before the national presidential election, was going to have a lasting conservative impact.

A closer look at the case shows that the Supreme Court voted to ban New York from re-imposing limits on religious gatherings in the state amid rising coronavirus infections. This decision appears to be a starting point of influence that recently nominated justice Amy Coney Barrett will have on the court. Justice Coney Barrett, who was controversially appointed to the position by President Trump, agreed with four of her conservative colleagues in the final vote.

The conflict of this case has caught the eyes of many American citizens mainly because they believe the Right to Freedom of Religion is not being protected. With Coney Barrett’s arrival to the highest court, many people greeted Coney Barrett’s arrival with dread. When Coney Barrett was confirmed in October, media outrage started to pour in as many feared that their civil rights would be challenged.

Even with Coney Barrett’s strong views, she still questions a few things other politicians with her same viewpoint have done. Recently, Coney Barrett has been feeling skeptical about Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall’s attempt to defend President Trump’s attempt to rig the census by excluding undocumented immigrants. Coney Barrett’s view on this issue could possibly be influenced by the fact that the case is extremely complex and a tedious one to follow. There is a good chance Trump will lose this case because it is deemed as unambiguously unconstitutional.
With knowledge of Barrett’s views on main social issues, all we can do is hope that her time on the bench will come with few extreme consequences. The potential exists for Barrett and her fellow conservative Justice’s to change the lens with which the court examines all of its cases.