Amy Coney Barrett’s sister talks family and humble beginnings with 16 News Now’s Joshua Short

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - In just a couple of weeks, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to move forward with the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for judge Amy Coney Barrett. There have been no shortage of news stories on Michiana’s latest resident to make national headlines.

You’ve probably heard that Judge Barrett has seven children and that she teaches at the University of Notre Dame. You probably know she’s a conservative. But 16 News Now’s Joshua Short is digging deeper tonight with someone who has the inside scoop on Judge Barrett…her younger sister Megan Edwards.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Judge Barrett is the oldest of seven. It was a full, but fun household.

“Seven children, you can say crowded, although it never felt like it was crowded. It was fun,” Edwards said.

“People used to come over and tease that we ate like birds [and]…until my brother came around and showed us what a real appetite was,” she added adding context that her brother is the youngest of the seven siblings and the only male in the bunch.

But he wasn’t the only Coney who possessed an unquenchable appetite. Amy proved to have quite the hunger for success as well.

“When she was young, she wrote essays that won awards, in grammar school, in elementary school. And then in high school, she ran for student council office and all the way through college,” Edwards explained.

After graduating Rhodes College with a B.A. in English Literature, she ended up studying law at the University of Notre Dame. She graduated with the law school’s highest honor, as the number one student in her class. That’s where she returned to teach law classes. That’s where she also met her husband, Jesse Barrett.

“She’s a good mom,” Edwards told Josh while describing her mother in motherhood.

“I’m frequently calling her asking for her advice. But I think what’s striking about Amy as a mother is the time that she and Jesse take together to really love their children and form their children to see them for who they are, their strengths and really have a goal in mind that this is what we want our family to be like and we want each one of our children to reach their full potential and they’re very deliberate and thoughtful in all of the things that they do for their family.”

The transition from Judge to Justice will not be easy and it’s one that is surrounded by public opinion.

“If people knew the Amy that I know, they would know that she is a person of faith, a person of love, she’s a person who cares, she’s a person of courage, she’s a person who really I think everyone would like if they truly got to know who she is,” Edwards told Josh after he asked how she felt after seeing comments following the many negative-leaning reports and public points-of-view.

“She would be – I think – one of the best candidates to ever be on that Supreme Court,” she added.