Comments on the Confirmation Hearings for Judge Kavanaugh
On Friday, the Chicago Council of Lawyers submitted a letter to Congress concerning the confirmation hearings of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, scheduled to begin today. The 18-page judicial evaluation report is available for download here.
After careful consideration, the Chicago Council of Lawyers opposes the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Judge Kavanaugh’s record suggests that he does not regard the role of a judge as that of a neutral arbiter but as a means to reaching certain outcomes. And while the Council does not ordinarily consider the substance of the candidates’ views when evaluating judges, the Supreme Court is a uniquely powerful institution, and Judge Kavanaugh’s views are uniquely extreme and troubling. If confirmed to the Supreme Court, Judge Kavanaugh will likely make justice less accessible to the disadvantaged and undermine the rule of law.
Furthermore, an unprecedented amount of records from Judge Kavanaugh’s prior service to the White House were not available for review as of Friday afternoon. Nothing short of full transparency is acceptable prior to lifetime appointment to the highest court. In the absence of a full and fair review of the judge’s record, confirmation at this time is an abdication of duty on the part of Congress.
The Chicago Council of Lawyers is a non-partisan public interest bar association that is dedicated to improving the quality of justice in the legal system by advocating for the fair and impartial administration of justice. For nearly 50 years, the Council has played an integral role in educating the public about the judicial system, including providing evaluations and recommendations to voters on the qualifications of judicial candidates in Cook County, as well as statements on the qualifications of nominees to the federal bench. The Council has also periodically vetted federal judicial candidates for Republican and Democratic Senators, and has published evaluations of sitting judges in the Chicago federal courts, including the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the Northern District of Illinois.
The Council of Lawyers takes this responsibility seriously. Although it has not traditionally spoken out regarding Supreme Court nominees, these are extraordinary circumstance. And the Council of Lawyers could not, in conscience remain silent. The full evaluation is available for download here.