The United States Chamber of Commerce made a full-throated endorsement of Judge Amy Coney Barrett on Thursday, saying that a country with a Justice Barrett on the Supreme Court is one in which businesses would be “given a fair shot.”
The Chamber made a statement of support of Barrett in September, but in a Thursday press conference Chamber Executive Vice President and Chief Litigation Counsel Steve Lehotsky broke down the Chamber's reasoning, referring to what he called a “myth” that there exists “a pro-business Supreme Court and pro-business justices.”
"But the fact is that the overwhelming majority of business cases decided by the court are completely lopsided affairs,” said Lehotsky, noting that when it comes to Supreme Court cases, the “side of business” either “wins big or loses big.”
“The average vote in the Supreme Court cases that we get involved in, win or lose is 7-2” Lehotsky said.
Lehotsky added that even the late Justice Antonin Scalia who is “one of the most supposedly pro-business judges of all time,” did not always weigh in the way the Chamber would have hoped. "We would win his vote on close class action and arbitration issues, we would lose it on close preemption and punitive damages,” said Lehotsky.
Lehotsky suggested that justices referred to as “pro-business” are often not so, but are billed as such by people who are looking “to have the odds stacked against businesses, because they are businesses."
“The only reason that justices like Justice Scalia are pilloried by some as pro-business, is that there are other justices in the history of the court that we're so virulently anti-business, that someone who is about 5050 odds and a close case is seen 'pro business' by comparison,” Lehotsky said.
The Chamber EVP also praised Barrett’s “steadfast commitment to the rule of law," “fidelity to the Constitution and the text of the laws of the United States,” and "commitment to the principles of free enterprise."
Lehotsky also noted that Barrett "does not countenance meritless class action lawsuits that serve as a tax on employers, impeding economic growth and job creation."
The National Federation of Small Businesses similarly expressed official support for Barrett in September, saying she would "give small businesses the freedom they need to thrive."
"Small businesses depend on the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the U.S. Constitution and protect their rights as small business owners," explained NFIB CEO Brad Close. "Judge Barrett has a proven record of interpreting the law as written, which provides needed certainty in the law for America’s small business owners. We support the nomination of Judge Barrett and look forward to the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings.”
