Reporters interviewed 87 of their peers about the Senate’s push to confirm Barrett before election.

Editor’s Note: Forest Fire reporters asked respondents about their reaction to the Senate’s choice to nominate and confirm a justice to the U.S. Supreme Court after voting began in the 2020 election. Below are the results for and against, along with 17 student responses.

The results are not a scientific poll, and in the virtual school environment, the respondents are often friends and classmates of the 52 reporters on staff.

Therefore, the responses likely do not represent the views of a significant portion of our student body, which is why we welcome student comments who wish to make their voices heard.  

For nomination and confirmation:  22

Against nomination and confirmation: 65

Student Responses

Owen Couch, 12

“No, I do not think Trump should nominate someone to fill Justice Ginsburg’s seat. I believe doing so would not only be incredibly hypocritical of the Republican party’s former stance on the issue, but it would demean the non-partisan and independent nature of the Supreme Court. And, it would frankly be disrespectful to the late justice, as her final wishes were for her seat to be filled by the next president.”

Gabriel Del Bosque, 10

“Yes, I believe the powers of the presidency extend from beginning to end of the term.”

Maddy Bagshaw, 12

“No. I don’t think that Trump should nominate anyone before the election because it has been a precedent for 60+ years that a SCOTUS nominee is not nominated in an election year. In Obama’s last term, Mitch McConnell was very adamant that the American people should have their say in the election, and no one was appointed until after the election. That was 300 days before the election. Now 45 days before the election, McConnell wants to go ahead with Trump nominating someone. This goes against the precedent that has been set. Not to mention that the Supreme Court is supposed to be an unbiased interpreter of the constitution and is becoming heavily politicized. The best option is to wait to see who the American people think should be president, and therefore replace RBG.”

Ayden Dail, 12

“Yes, because he will put someone with actual common sense that will help America in the seat.”

Brooks Lee, 11

“Yes, because he is president, and he has the power to do that, and he has no reason not to because why would he wait for the next president if he doesn’t get re-elected?”

Gina Bonfiglio, 10

“Yes, because the spot is going to have to be filled, and it’s better to have one than to not have one”

Fatima Elhanouch, 12

“I personally don’t believe he should. Not only would it be completely rude, as he would be ignoring RBG’s dying request to not be replaced until after a new president is elected, but it would also be another “midnight judge” situation. This close to the election, the best idea would be to wait because if Trump is beaten in the election, the next president will have adequate time to choose a suitable judge instead of one that just agrees with Trump’s ideals.”

Geigh Neill, 12

“I think having the proper amount of justices in office is preferable in any situation. I think, regardless of how many days left in office a president has or what side they’re on, there should be a ninth justice. The judicial branch, just like any other, is very important.”

Kaitlyn Wolff, 12

“I believe Trump should not nominate a new Supreme Court justice until the 2020 election. This is partially out of respect for RBG: she was an incredible woman and an amazing justice of the peace who kept fighting for women’s rights until and during her dying days, but also out of respect for the next possible president. Of course, it’s politics so nobody is that respectful, but I guess that’s how I’d hope for things to be in a nicer world.”

Shelly Roper, 10

“I don’t think President Trump should be able to nominate a new supreme judge at this time because in 2016, when a judge died months before the election, they waited until after the next inauguration to take a new nomination.”

Andrew Hirsh, 11

“I think he should because having a missing seat in the Supreme Court before the election would not be a good thing.”

Cara Mack, 10

“I don’t think that RGB’s seat should be filled until after the election. The next supreme court justice should be determined by who people elect in number because there is less than two months until it happens.”

Kyle Kimutai, 12

“No he should not. It is to my understanding a lot of political issues are and decisions are decided by precedent, and the precedent was decisively set last year that at this point of the term the current president shouldn’t make that choice, and it should be passed on to the president of the next term even if it ends up being him.”

Kayla Butterworth, 12

“Yes, he should be able to nominate someone to fill the empty spot on the Supreme Court because he is still the president, and there needs to be an odd number of chair members to prevent ties in ruling.”

Sapphira Gates, 11

“Absolutely not. The Republicans said Obama couldn’t fill a similar spot with his presidency “coming to an end” when he had nearly a year left in office, so the same rules should apply to Trump, who has significantly less time. Supreme Court judges serve for life, so we need to think about who exactly we want nominating some of the highest judges in the nation. Trump already has two court judges under his thumb, we cannot let him have a third.”

Sydney Harmon, 10

“I do not think President Trump should nominate someone to fill Justice RBG’s seat. The last time a spot needed to be filled there was a large disagreement and discouragement against previous presidents doing this, so Trump is no exception. It was also a dying wish of hers to not be replaced yet, and I think we should respect that.”

Alex Greaves, 12

“It was quite literally RBG’s dying wish that they don’t replace her till the next election. To replace before the next election is flat out disrespectful. This is a life long position and picking someone should not be done as a political stunt, but only if they can objectively interpret the constitution.”

Charlotte Boriotti, 10

I don’t not think Trump should replace RBG since he only has 43 days left. This decision requires a much longer period of time to make a good choice. I think he should wait, and if he were to get re elected make his decision then.