The Newest Supreme Court Justice: 7 Things You Need to Know About Brett Kavanaugh

You may have heard that Brett Kavanaugh was a federal judge that President Trump nominated to be on the Supreme Court.  He has since been confirmed and now sits on the bench of the Supreme Court as an Associate Justice. Here are seven things you need to know about this newest Supreme Court Judge.

1. Judge Kavanaugh is from Washington D.C. and attended Georgetown Preparatory School. He graduated from Yale Law School and was a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the Washington D.C. Circuit.

2. Relating to the Russian interference investigation of the 2016 election, Brett Kavanaugh was asked: “can a sitting president be required to respond to a subpoena?” Kavanaugh believed that this was a hypothetical question and decided not to answer it. He felt he could not answer this question “as a sitting judge and nominee.”

3. Kavanaugh’s views on abortion stem from a case that allowed a teenage immigrant who was in federal custody to get an abortion. He believes the government “has permissible interests in favoring fetal life, protecting the best interests of a minor and refraining from facilitating abortion.”

4. Kavanaugh’s views on discrimination can be best viewed through his response to a Fannie Mae worker being called the “n-word.” Kavanaugh’s response to this was that “no other word in the English language so powerfully or instantly calls to mind our country’s long and brutal struggle to overcome racism and discrimination against African-Americans.”

5. Judge Kavanaugh’s views on gun rights are more in favor of the registration of semiautomatic rifles. He believes the ban on semiautomatic rifles is unconstitutional because they are commonly used for self-defense and hunting by law-abiding citizens. He thinks that registration for all lawfully possessed guns should not be a rule as it was not required initially.

6. During the confirmation hearings, Kavanaugh became the focus of additional scrutiny due to accusations made by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. Dr. Ford accused Judge Kavanaugh of pinning her down while he was drunk at a high school party and forcing himself on her while covering her mouth as she screamed. When speaking of the attempted rape, Dr. Ford stated “I thought he might inadvertently kill me” and “he was trying to attack me and remove my clothing.” after the accusations became public, Judge Kavanaugh officially released a statement denying Dr. Ford’s accusations. Another accusation was made by a woman named Deborah Ramirez claiming that Judge Kavanaugh exposed himself to her while they were classmates at Yale. Ms. Ramirez stated that she had been drinking but remembers “Brett laughing after exposing himself to her.”

7. President Donald Trump defended his nominee once the allegations arose calling him “an outstanding person.” President Trump also questioned the motives of  Dr. Ford and why she did not report the sexual assault 36 years ago.  An additional FBI background check was called for by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.  This brief, and what some call superficial, revisit by the FBI did not provide any additional information and Judge Kavanaugh was sworn in on October 6, 2018.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/brett-kavanaugh-trumps-supreme-court-pick-has-sided-with-broad-views-of-presidential-powers/2018/07/09/1618bec0-83a8-11e8-8553-a3ce89036c78_story.html?utm_term=.c5826ac65e30

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/09/politics/trump-supreme-court-pick/index.html?no-st=1537753438

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/08/19/abortion-crime-race-gays-areas-where-brett-kavanaugh-matters/1008303002/

https://www.businessinsider.com/christine-blasey-ford-accuses-brett-kavanaugh-sexual-assault-2018-9

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/09/05/brett-kavanaugh-his-views-key-issues-facing-supreme-court/1201261002/

https://www-m.cnn.com/2018/09/18/politics/ford-letter-fbi/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3DBrett%2520Kavanaugh%26size%3D10%26from%3D80%26page%3D9%26type%3Darticle

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/second-woman-alleges-sexual-misconduct-kavanaugh-time-college-n912371

https://www-m.cnn.com/2018/09/20/politics/trump-kavanaugh-fbi-assault/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2Fsearch%2F%3Fq%3DBrett%2520Kavanaugh%26size%3D10%26page%3D5%26from%3D40%26type%3Darticle

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/kavanaugh-preps-senate-testimony-assault-allegations-n911441