Brett Kavanaugh Has Been Unmasked As A Partisan Zealot"

[orangecrush]

Nancy Gertner Cognoscenti contributor
Judge Nancy Gertner was appointed to the bench in 1994 by President Bill Clinton, and retired in September of 2011 to join the faculty of Harvard Law School. Her autobiography, "In Defense of Women: Memoirs of an Unrepentant Advocate," was published in 2011



I added my name to a letter of law professors, now numbering over 2,400, who expressed concerns about Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s fitness to be a justice of the Supreme Court. The letter is not based on his extraordinarily conservative record; many of his opinions go so far as to challenge the constitutional basis for legislation passed after the New Deal. The signatories to the letter reflected many different judicial philosophies. Nor was it based on allegations that he misrepresented his record when he was in the Bush White House in his testimony before the Senate for this position, as well as his testimony for confirmation on the DC Circuit court of appeals where he now sits. And it was not based on the allegations of sexual misconduct brought against him by Christine Blasey Ford, which I, for one, found to be credible.

Rather the letter was focused only on his performance before the Senate last Thursday, when he sounded like a radio talk show host. He was angry, his rhetoric was heated and partisan; he fairly spit out his answers. He was trafficking in bizarre conspiracy theories, about left wing funders, that it was all a “political hit job” by people “acting on behalf of the Clintons.” And he threatened “what goes around comes around.” He treated members of a coequal branch, the Senate, with complete disrespect, interrupting and attacking them. It was as if in that moment he was unmasked — as a zealot, as a partisan.


The law governing judicial disqualification addresses not just real bias but more pointedly, even the appearance of bias. The statute requires a judge or justice to “disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” While the rules of recusal that bind lower federal court judges do not technically apply to Supreme Court Justices, they surely embody principles that judges should follow so as not to undermine the public’s faith in the court. After that performance, who can now believe that he is fair, that he will be a neutral particularly in cases involving those he so roundly attacked by name?

This isn’t the first time Judge Kavanaugh’s temperament was challenged. When Judge Kavanaugh was preparing for his second confirmation hearing for a seat on the DC circuit, the American Bar Association, which had earlier given him its highest rating reconsidered. The new rating was “qualified” rather than “well qualified” based on confidential interviews, which raised concerns about judicial temperament and his reputation for truthfulness. According to the press, one judge called Kavanaugh “unprepared and sanctimonious.” Another reported that he had dissembled in his handling of a case. A third questioned his ability to “be balanced and fair should he assume a federal judgeship.” To be sure, by 2018, the ABA restored him to the original highest rating – but that was before last Thursday.

http://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2018/10/05/the-senate-should-not-confirm-kavanaugh-new-york-times-nancy-gertner

[procon]

1. I didn't know that he was downgraded from "well qualified" to "qualified" .

"The new rating was “qualified” rather than “well qualified” based on confidential interviews, which raised concerns about judicial temperament and his reputation for truthfulness. "

So he isn't a top tier judge, not the best of the best, but a second rate judge with a history of lying and acting inappropriately on the bench. Great pick, Trump!

[orangecrush]

2. And has vowed retaliation.

[yardwork]

3. Kavanaugh gets pass after pass because he's a privileged white male.

Wealthy white men - and their female enablers - are the actual base of the Republican Party.

They're angry and defensive because the world is giving a little more power to others. Rich white men and their female cheering squads are used to having ALL the power. They're freaking out.

[ms liberty]

4. K&R. n/t

[orangecrush]

5. Thanks