What Should the Senate #AskKavanaugh? Here's What You Told Us
What would you ask Kavanaugh? Supreme Court practitioners, advocates and academics tell us one question they'd ask the nominee.
August 30, 2018 at 01:31 PM
6 minute read
U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh next Tuesday will take a seat in front of a battery of cameras and U.S. senators, who are ready to press him on myriad issues about executive power, reproductive rights and perhaps whether his views on the news media contrast with the president who nominated him.
What would you ask Kavanaugh? Supreme Court practitioners, advocates and academics tell us one question they'd ask the nominee. Here are some of the responses:
➤➤ “Do you believe the Constitution's guarantee of individual liberty protects the right to make personal decisions regarding one's own body and intimate relationships, including whom one chooses to marry, how to raise one's children, whether to use contraception, and whether to obtain an abortion?” —David Cole (American Civil Liberties Union)
➤➤ “The Supreme Court may soon be asked to reconsider important decisions including Planned Parenthood v. Casey (abortion), Obergefell v. Hodges (marriage equality), and Buckley v. Valeo (limits on individual campaign contributions). It has become commonplace for judicial nominees to dodge questions about these cases simply by declaring they are 'established precedent' or 'settled law.' But as demonstrated by last term's landmark labor union decision—which overturned 40-year-old 'settled law'—the court is not bound by its own precedent, no matter how well-established. Under what circumstances should the court revisit 'settled law,' and are any of those circumstances present with respect to Casey, Obergefell, or Buckley?” —Peter Stris (Stris & Maher)
➤➤ “How would Judge Kavanaugh craft opinions for the court? Will he craft them narrowly in a way that garners broad consensus but leaves many of the questions unresolved? Or will he craft them broadly in a way that answers the most pressing questions before the court but is likely to generate dissents from his colleagues?” —Wen Fa (Pacific Legal Foundation)
➤➤ “Do you believe demographic diversity on the federal bench and in the Supreme Court bar is important, and, if so, what do you think should be done to improve the diversity of the bench and bar?” —Jaime Santos (Goodwin Procter)
➤➤ “What I really want to know is whether he plans to play basketball regularly with the law clerks. But I'd also throw in the same question I suggested for Gorsuch last year: whether he thinks the court deciding fewer than 75 cases a term is the right number or perhaps is a bit light. If so, what number does he think might be more appropriate? I think each justice since Chief Justice John Roberts' confirmation has said the court should take more cases, but it doesn't.” —Carter Phillips (Sidley Austin)
➤➤ “Justice [Antonin] Scalia consistently upheld disclosure provisions in campaign laws, including campaign finance disclosure and the disclosure of petitioner signers. In Doe v. Reed, Justice Scalia wrote, 'There are laws against threats and intimidation; and harsh criticism, short of unlawful action, is a price our people have traditionally been willing to pay for self-governance. Requiring people to stand up in public for their political acts fosters civic courage, without which democracy is doomed.' Do you agree with Justice Scalia's view that disclosure of political activity is essential to a democratic system and is therefore constitutional?” —Marc Elias (Perkins Coie)
➤➤ “Would you agree that the phrase 'unenumerated rights' refers to rights that are not specifically set forth in the text of the Constitution itself? Do you believe the Constitution recognizes protections for certain unenumerated rights? If yes, which ones and where do you think the court found the authority to recognize them? If no, which unenumerated rights have been improperly recognized by past Supreme Court decisions, and what do you perceive your role to be to limit or overturn them? —David Frederick (Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick)
➤➤ “Can you point to any cases of public importance in which you as a judge have written or joined a decision that represented bad policy (in your view) but was required by law? If you feel that you can't answer that question, can you identify any cases of public importance in which you have written or joined a decision that rejected a position you had taken during your time in the executive branch or in non-judicial writing (excluding advocacy for a client)?” —Arthur Hellman (University of Pittsburgh School of Law)
➤➤ “Given that the court overruled Bowers v. Hardwick 15 years ago, do you agree, as the court held in Lawrence v. Texas (2003) that 'Bowers was not correct when it was decided and is not correct today'?” —Shannon Minter (National Center for Lesbian Rights)
➤➤ “Have you ever expressed the opinion in the past—in writing, in a speech, in a conversation with anyone—that you believe that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided?” —Erwin Chemerinsky (University of California Berkeley School of Law)
➤➤ “What is your position on televised arguments? And if you're not in favor, would you at least support issuance of same-day audio for all arguments, which is the practice in the D.C. Circuit?” —Ruthanne Deutsch (Deutsch Hunt PLLC)
➤➤ “Much of the Supreme Court's work is shrouded in secrecy for reasons that defy explanation. What are some ways that you would work to make the court, and the judiciary as a whole, more open to and understood by the larger public?” —Gabe Roth (Fix the Court)
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllPaul Weiss’ Shanmugam Joins 11th Circuit Fight Over False Claims Act’s Constitutionality
‘A Force of Nature’: Littler Mendelson Shareholder Michael Lotito Dies At 76
3 minute readUS Reviewer of Foreign Transactions Sees More Political, Policy Influence, Say Observers
'Unlawful Release'?: Judge Grants Preliminary Injunction in NASCAR Antitrust Lawsuit
3 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Call for Nominations: Elite Trial Lawyers 2025
- 2Senate Judiciary Dems Release Report on Supreme Court Ethics
- 3Senate Confirms Last 2 of Biden's California Judicial Nominees
- 4Morrison & Foerster Doles Out Year-End and Special Bonuses, Raises Base Compensation for Associates
- 5Tom Girardi to Surrender to Federal Authorities on Jan. 7
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250