6 key moments from day two of Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation hearing

Day two of Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings wrapped up Tuesday evening, ending a marathon session in which Democrats pressed the judge on her positions on matters such as abortion and gay rights, as Barrett repeatedly demurred, citing the “‘Ginsburg rule” in refusing to engage in hypotheticals. 

Here are six key moments from day two of Barrett’s hearing: 

1. Barrett impresses by responding to an entire day’s questioning without using notes

After hours of answering questions on her legal philosophy and recalling her own judgments and those of other courts, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas., asked Barrett about how she prepared.

“You know most of us have multiple notebooks and notes and books and things like that in front of us,” Cornyn said. “Can you hold up what you’ve been referring to in answering our questions?”

“Is there anything on it?” Cornyn asked.

Barrett cracked a smile and held up a blank notepad that was sitting in front of her.

“The letterhead that says ‘United States Senate,'” she responded as giggles echoed throughout the room.

“That’s impressive,” Cornyn said.

2. Barrett cites “Ginsburg rule” in declining to give her opinion on hypothetical cases

Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., asked during Barrett's confirmation hearing if she agrees with the late Justice Antonin Scalia's view that the Constitution does not guarantee a right to gay marriage. 

"I'm not going to express a view on whether I agree or disagree with Justice Scalia for the same reasons that I've been giving," Barrett said. “Justice Ginsburg with her characteristic pithiness used this to describe how a nominee should comport herself at a hearing: no hints, no previews, no forecasts. That has been the practice of nominees before her, but everybody calls it the 'Ginsburg Rule' because she stated it so concisely and it’s been the practice of every nominee since."

Barrett held true to the standard throughout questions on how she would rule throughout the day.