Kavanaugh takes place on the court
Justice jumps into first case, asks questions
WASHINGTON — Justice Brett Kavanaugh took his seat on the Supreme Court for the first time Tuesday and quickly joined the questioning as justices struggled to make sense of a federal law that imposes longer prison terms on criminals who have three violent felonies on their records.
The justices emerged from behind the chamber’s red velvet curtain, and Kavanaugh, after surviving one of the ugliest Senate confirmation battles in modern history, took his seat at the far end of the bench next to Justice Elena Kagan. They laughed and chatted until the argument got underway.
Chief Justice John Roberts paused at the start to welcome the court’s new member. “Justice Kavanaugh, we wish you a long and happy career in our common calling,” he said.
It was quiet and orderly in and around the court Tuesday, in sharp contrast to Saturday afternoon when a crowd of demonstrators occupied the front steps of the building after Kavanaugh won confirmation in the Senate a block away.
Kavanaugh’s first case involved how to interpret the federal sentencing law. No one was disputing the aim of the Armed Career Criminal Act, which is supposed lock up repeat violent criminals. Rather, lawyers were arguing whether a purse snatching or breaking into a recreational vehicle counts as a violent felony that could lead to an extra 15 years to life in prison.
For their part, the justices seemed to be a lighter mood than normal. When Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked about whether a sharp pinch counts as violent force, she turned as though ready to pinch Justice Neil Gorsuch seated next to her. He recoiled in mock horror. A sketch depicts Brett Kavanaugh, far right, with the other justices Tuesday. He sits next to Justice Elena Kagan.
The court heard two cases interpreting the same law. In Stokeling v. United States, a lawyer for Denard Stokeling, a Florida man, argued that his 20-year-old conviction for “unarmed robbery” for snatching a woman’s necklace should not be deemed a violent felony. Government lawyers disagreed and argued “robbery by sudden snatching” involves a use of physical force.
Kagan asked a government lawyer whether grabbing a woman’s handbag from her shoulder would qualify as a violent felony. Yes, the attorney said. Kagan was not convinced. “I’m walking down the street and somebody grabs my handbag. I’m not happy about it. But it doesn’t have that violent aspect of it in ordinary language ... like beating somebody up or putting a gun in their face.”
Kavanaugh then cited a 2015 opinion written by the late Justice Antonin Scalia that turned on whether there was “a substantial degree of force” involved. If so, that would qualify as a violent felony, he suggested.
Over the two hours, Kavanaugh asked at least a dozen questions. The justices said they were seeking a legal formula for meshing the 1986 federal law with the wide range of state felony laws.
In a second case, United States v. Sims, a lawyer for Jason Sims, an Arkansas man, argued that breaking into an unoccupied recreational vehicle should not qualify as a violent felony. In the past, judges have ruled that breaking into a home counts as a violent crime, but not breaking into a vehicle.
On Wednesday, the court will hear an immigration case in which Kavanaugh could hold the deciding vote. It pits the American Civil Liberties Union against the Trump administration and arose from a class-action lawsuit in California. At issue is whether legal immigrants who have a past crime on their record can be detained for deportation by immigration authorities — even long after they’ve served their time for the crime — and held in jail without a bond hearing.
As the newest member of the court, Kavanaugh will take notes for the justices when they meet for private conferences. He’ll also be the one to answer the door at those meetings if someone knocks to deliver something such as a justice’s coffee or forgotten glasses.
He’ll also sit on the committee that oversees the court’s cafeteria, which is open to the public. Roberts has previously said that assignment is a way of bringing a new justice “back down to Earth after the excitement of confirmation and appointment.”