U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined David F. Levi — founding director of the Bolch Judicial Institute and the named 2026 Bolch Prize recipient — for a live, onstage conversation about judging, constitutional interpretation, and the role of the courts in American life. The recorded discussion was presented by St. John’s College and the University of New Mexico School of Law and moderated by Levi and Ben Allison, co-founder of the Santa Fe firm Bardacke Allison Miller LLP.
Drawing on themes from her book, Listening to the Law, Justice Barrett described her jurisprudence, including the theories of originalism and textualism. She also addressed contemporary challenges facing the Court, including the rise of emergency applications and public perceptions of the judiciary, while underscoring the Constitution as a multigenerational project.
“We don’t stand in a moment that’s isolated from the past,” Justice Barrett said during the conversation, describing an important theme from the book. “[…] Each generation has taken the Constitution, made it its own, and built on the work of other generations before it.”
▶️ Watch the full conversation: https://youtu.be/cRpLpz4-Eeo?si=DUok8BIRQNAIz6-a