The clinic “has defended the freedom of religion or belief for all people across a wide variety of projects,” including Jews, Muslims, Sikhs and
an Apache tribe, said Monaghan.

As St. Isidore and its allies readied for legal battle, Farley said, Notre Dame brought in a corporate team at the law firm Dechert LLP, including Michael McGinley,
who worked on selecting judicial nominees at the Trump White House at the time Leo was advising the president. McGinley clerked for Gorsuch when he was a 10th Circuit appeals judge and for Alito at the Supreme Court. He accompanied Gorsuch to his confirmation hearings. He is not employed by Notre Dame, said Connolly. He is working “pro bono” for St. Isidore, Farley said.

Within Notre Dame, the effort’s biggest champion has been Garnett, Barrett’s friend of 20 years, former law school colleague and former neighbor. The two met in 1998 when Garnett was a clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas and Barrett for Justice Antonin Scalia. Since then, their lives have been
“completely intertwined,” Garnett wrote in a USA TODAY editorial.

In December of 2021, the
clinic announced it was adding Brendan Wilson, a nonprofit and corporate tax attorney whose clients have included religiously affiliated schools, to its legal team. The previous May, Wilson had
purchased Barrett’s South Bend home for $905,000, a deal that came under media scrutiny given that the clinic had begun to advocate before the court by filing amicus briefs.

Wilson was taking up an adjunct role
handling the “transactional component” of the clinic, the announcement said.

Both Garnett and Wilson, through Connolly, declined to comment on whether they’ve discussed the case with any of the justices, and Barrett in particular.

“It is a privilege to assist St. Isidore, which will enhance educational pluralism and promote high-quality education opportunities, especially for underserved communities in Oklahoma,” Garnett said in an email response.

Those backing the St. Isidore application face a formidable array of critics and opponents. Charter schools are required by Oklahoma statute to be non-sectarian, and in its application, the archdiocese says the school would be part of the “evangelizing mission of the Church.”

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, a Republican, says the proposed school violates both the U.S. and the state Constitution, and he
is suing to stop it. Separately, a group of 10 plaintiffs including public school parents and faith leaders represented by groups including Americans for Separation of Church and State filed a lawsuit warning that the creation of the school will erode a pillar of American democracy: the wall of separation between church and state.