Conduct during hearings violated judicial rules

On Sept. 27, I watched Judge Brett Kavanaugh give testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in connection with his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Whether or not the allegations of sexual violence against Judge Kavanaugh are true, his conduct during his testimony clearly shows that he is temperamentally unsuited to maintain any judicial position, including his current one as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. His opening statement was aggressive, angry and blatantly partisan. His testimony was likewise aggressive, particularly in response to questions posed by women on the Judiciary Committee. I was appalled by Judge Kavanaugh’s rude interruptions, posing questions to his interrogators and evading direct answers numerous times during his testimony.

Judge Kavanaugh’s conduct was undignified, and far below the level of decorum and integrity expected from the Supreme Court nominees. His conduct was also in violation of the rules of the Model Code of Judicial Conduct that governs the District of Columbia courts. These rules are “binding and enforceable” on all judges in the District of Columbia. For brevity, let me highlight a few rules that Judge Kavanaugh violated during his testimony:

Rule 1.2 [Promoting Confidence in the Judiciary]: “A judge shall act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary, and shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety.”

Rule 3.1 (C) [Extrajudicial Activities in General]: “… when engaging in extrajudicial activities, a judge shall not … participate in activities that would appear to a reasonable person to undermine the judge’s independence, integrity, or impartiality.”

Rule 4.1 (A)(7) [Political and Campaign Activities of Judges and Judicial Candidates in General]: “… a judge or a judicial candidate shall not … seek, accept, or use endorsements from a political organization.”

As a citizen of the United States of America, I am dismayed that someone as clearly unsuited for the Supreme Court appointment as Judge Kavanaugh may be confirmed to it nonetheless due to partisanship and expediency. I sincerely hope that Sen. Pat Toomey and his colleagues will choose to put the good of our country, which is deeply divided over this nomination, over the good of the republican party. ANNA V. FISHER

Squirrel Hill