Justice Kavanaugh takes seat on Supreme Court
Just three days after he was narrowly confirmed to the US Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh took his seat on the bench Tuesday, altering the status quo and solidifying a conservative majority for years to come.
Kavanaugh, 53, will join eight other justices and hear cases in federal criminal law, bringing the nine-member court back up to full strength after the retirement of Anthony Kennedy in July.
President Donald Trump gained a major victory with Kavanaugh’s confirmation, who is his second appointee after Neil Gorsuch the year prior.
The bitterly divided US Senate voted 50-48 on Saturday to confirm Kavanaugh, with a single Democratic senator voting in favor.
Kavanaugh’s election to the high court was considered to be a given until California university professor Christine Blasey Ford went public with explosive allegations that he had sexually assaulted her in 1982 while they were in high school. Two other women also accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.
During senate hearings, Kavanaugh denied the allegations and accused Democrats of an “orchestrated political hit.”
He later wrote in an editorial that he regretted some of his comments against lawmakers, but some critics questioned whether it would affect his judgment in court. Hundreds of law professors – including Justice John Paul Stevens, a Republican appointee – said Kavanaugh’s remarks should disqualify him from the job.
Other critics feared that the court’s reputation would suffer if it becomes perceived as a political rather than a legal institution.
During a White House ceremony on Monday night, Kavanaugh sought to put the confirmation battle behind him.
“Although the Senate confirmation process tested me as it has tested others, it did not change me,” he said.
Court leans Right
Kavanaugh moves to the Supreme Court after spending 12 years as a judge on the US Court of Appeals in Washington, where he built a conservative judicial record and a reputation for being affable and well-prepared.
In the 1990s, prior to becoming a judge, Kavanaugh was part of special counsel Kenneth Starr’s team that investigated Democratic President Bill Clinton.
Some speculate that he will push the court further to the right as he is replacing Kennedy, a conservative who voted along with liberal justices on key social issues, including on gay rights.
Kavanaugh is expected to cast votes on leading matters including abortion, gun control, immigration, and voting rights.
Kavanaugh’s views on presidential powers could be tested within days in a dispute over whether Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross should submit to questioning by lawyers suing the Trump administration over a decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
If an appeals court does not stop Ross’s deposition, the administration is expected to turn to the high court.
Although his reputation was tarnished by the sexual misconduct claims, Kavanaugh said that he has a record of promoting women in the legal profession.
All four of the law clerks Kavanaugh has hired this term are women, which is a first for a Supreme Court justice.
The oral arguments on Tuesday concern the 1984 Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), a “threestrikes-and-you’re-out” criminal sentencing law that boosts prison sentences after multiple violent felonies or drug offenses.
The cases challenge the types of crimes that qualify as violent felonies under the ACCA and can lead to a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence for the defendant. In one case, the justices will review a Florida robbery conviction. The other two cases relate to burglary convictions in Tennessee and Arkansas. (Reuters)