BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – With one week until Election Day, the Senate has confirmed Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court. The conservative nominee with Indiana ties takes the place of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, tipping the balance of the court. Republicans have touted Barrett’s record and experience, while Democrats have criticized the confirmation process because it is taking place during the election. IU experts are available to comment on the confirmation process, the significance of Barrett’s appointment and the possible impact on the Affordable Care Act.

Nicholas Almendares

Subject areas: Accountability, democracy, administrative law, class actions, collective responsibility and liability, election law, protests and democracy, class actions, separation of powers, collective responsibility, campaign financing.

Nicholas Almendares is an associate professor at the Maurer School of Law. His research focuses on accountability and democracy across areas of law such as class actions, separation of powers, collective responsibility and campaign financing. His work takes an interdisciplinary approach, often drawing upon economics, social science and philosophy. 

Gerard N. Magliocca

Subject areas: Torts, constitutional law, intellectual property, legal history, admiralty.

Gerard N. Magliocca, the Samuel R. Rosen Professor at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, is the author of four books and over 20 articles on constitutional law and intellectual property. He received his undergraduate degree from Stanford and his law degree from Yale, and he joined the IU faculty after two years at Covington and Burling and one year as a law clerk for Judge Guido Calabresi on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. Three of his books have been the subjects of programs on C-Span’s Book TV, including his latest book, on the Bill of Rights.

Steve Sanders

Subject areas: Constitutional law, U.S. Supreme Court, same-sex marriage, LGBT legal and political issues, equal protection, 14th Amendment, family law.

Steve Sanders teaches constitutional law, constitutional interpretation, family law and constitutional litigation (the law of Section 1983 actions for constitutional torts) at the IU Maurer School of Law; his scholarship focuses on questions arising out of the 14th Amendment's guarantees of equal protection and due process, with a special focus on issues affecting LGBT people and same-sex couples. Sanders' writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Huffington Post and SCOTUSBlog, among other print and online outlets. He has appeared on MSNBC and public radio's To the Point, is a regular legal analyst for Bloomberg Radio, and is frequently quoted by print and online news media about matters of constitutional law, LGBTQ rights and the Supreme Court.

Kosali Simon

Subject areas: Health economics and policy, the impact of state and federal regulations attempting to ease the availability of private and public health insurance for vulnerable populations, health and labor market outcomes, Affordable Care Act.

Kosali Simon is a Herman B Wells Endowed Professor in the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs and associate vice provost for health sciences. She is a nationally known health economist who specializes in applying economic analysis in the context of health insurance and health care policy. Her research focuses on the impact of health insurance reform on health care and labor market outcomes, and on the causes and consequences of the opioid crisis.