The hearing to confirm Judge Amy Barrett to this Supreme Court will now begin.

The GOP has long been aware that they should focus on the wrapping paper and not the toxic

mess that is inside.

It's a sincere question.

I'm generally curious.

No hints, no previews, no forecasts.

Hi and welcome back to Amicus.

This is Slates podcast about the courts and the law and the rule of law and the US Supreme

Court.

I'm Dahlia Lithwick.

I write about those things for Slates.

This week, usually an off week for us on the show is of course an on week for us on

the show because we spent it watching the historic hearings of Judge Amy Coney Barrett who

will likely be voted on and confirmed and seated at the highest court of the land in a matter

of weeks.

There's a good deal to say about these hearings and also not much to say.

The hearings themselves went off without much variance from the usual script.

For your president, Phil's five years worth of vacancies, why?

Well, because he can.

And as our guest Robert Rabin predicted last week on this show, Senate Democrats tried

to highlight the real world impacts of what it's going to be like to have a six to three

Supreme Court that will empirically be the most conservative court we have seen in

...