U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett to speak in Bentonville
by April 20, 2026 1:36 pm 665 views
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art said Monday (April 20) that Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett will be the next guest in its Building Bridges speaker series. Ken Burns, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, and President Barack Obama were previous guests of the series.
Building Bridges: Disagreement by Design: A Conversation with Justice Amy Coney Barrett “will explore how civil disagreement sustains democracy,” according to a news release. Barrett “will discuss how respect, intellectual rigor, and adherence to process guide judicial decision-making, and why these principles matter to every citizen.”
Crystal Bridges Board Chair Olivia Walton will moderate the conversation taking place at 6 p.m. May 9 at Heartland Whole Health Institute on the Crystal Bridges Campus in Bentonville. “The conversation will highlight how the American legal system is structured to accommodate differing viewpoints while upholding shared rules and institutions,” according to the news release.
Barrett received a bachelor’s degree from Rhodes College in 1994 and a law degree from Notre Dame Law School in 1997. After two years in private law practice in Washington, D.C., she became a law professor, joining the faculty of Notre Dame Law School in 2002.
She was appointed a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 2017. President Donald Trump nominated her as an associate justice of the Supreme Court, and on Oct. 27, 2020, she joined the highest U.S. court, which comprises eight associate justices and one chief justice.
The release shows that the Building Bridges speaker series “brings together thought leaders, thinkers and artists to model civic dialogue. As part of Crystal Bridges’ year-long celebration of America at 250, Building Bridges honors the American spirit of meeting in the middle with curiosity, courage and care.”
Tickets for the conversation with Barrett are $40 for Crystal Bridges members and $50 for nonmembers. Arkansas TV will livestream the event.
Building Bridges is sponsored by Trott Family Philanthropies, Cadillac of Bentonville (Superior Auto Group), Stella Boyle Smith Trust, Cathy and Mike Mayton, Trustees, Demara Titzer, Amp Sign and Banner, Rebecca Hurst and Jim Smith of Smith Hurst PLC, Andrea Albright and Patrick Bannon, Marsha and Jon Phillips, Jim and Susan von Gremp, and Omer and Evren Tore.