Supreme Court Vacancy Toolkit
ACS Calls on Senate to Pause, Examine Abuse Allegations
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Whiplash: Kavanaugh, Rosenstein, and the Threat to Justice
Join us Friday, Sept. 28 at 3pm Eastern for a briefing call to discuss this week’s developments regarding the Kavanaugh nomination and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s employment status and its implications for the Mueller investigation. Listen here.
ACS is calling on the Senate to delay the vote and investigate abuse allegations against Judge Kavanaugh: GOP Poised to Tarnish Supreme Court for Generations
Abuse Allegations
The process for Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the United States Supreme Court has been fraught from the start with Senate Republicans’ refusal to request his full record of documents, the highly unusual way in which any documents were produced (many of which were labeled “Committee Confidential”), the rush in the nomination process, hearings punctuated with hundreds of protesters and Senators fighting to tell their narrative, and serious questions about the truthfulness of Kavanaugh’s testimony.
Now comes the latest news of sexual assault allegations, which raise another set of serious questions. This is all in addition to substantive concerns about this nomination and the effect it will have to swing the Court hard right on a host of issues including personal liberty issues, health care, presidential power, voting, and the list goes on.
Listen: What’s Next for Kavanaugh? ACS hosted a call on Tuesday, Sept. 18 to discuss the recent developments. Listen here.
ACS Calls on President, Senate to Examine Abuse Allegations
“It is time for President Trump to take a long hard look and decide whether Brett Kavanaugh truly exhibits the integrity, values, and judgment Americans expect from those who serve on the Supreme Court.”
Serious allegations of sexual abuse have been leveled at Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee. ACS, which has been calling for a pause in the confirmation process for some time, released the following statements from ACS President Caroline Fredrickson. Full statements here and here.
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Media Outreach Guide – How to secure radio and television interviews and write impactful Op-Eds and LTEs.
Latest on Abuse Allegations:
Kavanaugh’s accuser deserves a fair criminal investigation by Thiru Vignarajah, ACS member
The Ugly Double Standard Over Kavanaugh’s So-Called Youth by Shira Scheindlin, ACS Board member, and Kristin Clarke
Why We Need an FBI Investigation by Hon. Nancy Gertner, ACS Board member
ACS on the Kavanaugh Hearings
The confirmation hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh were a travesty – part of a rushed and highly flawed nomination process. ACS is urging the Senate to delay any vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination until it has conducted a thorough review of all relevant files.
Watch:
View ACS President Caroline Fredrickson’s statement about the hearings:
Top legal scholars discuss the Kavanaugh nomination and the upcoming Supreme Court term.
Latest analysis from ACS:
Kavanaugh Hearings Day Four: ACS Experts Testify
Professors Melissa Murray, Lisa Heinzerling, and Peter Shane were invited by the committee to weigh in.
Kavanaugh Hearings Day Three: Leaked Documents Show Troubling Positions
Questions about Roe as settled law, stolen documents, and prior sworn testimony brought into question surfaced as Democrats released previously hidden documents.
Kavanaugh Hearings Day Two: Dishonesty on Garza
Carolyn Shapiro breaks down Kavanaugh’s dishonest answers and other key details.
Kavanaugh Hearings Day One: Documents, Protests, and Democracy
The first of our daily recaps of the Kavanaugh hearings.
In a new ACSblog, President Caroline Fredrickson explains the four key issues to watch for as the hearings unfold.
Document Fight
Demand that the Senate Review All Kavanaugh Documents
The Senate Republican leadership has scheduled hearings on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court beginning September 4, long before anyone will have had a chance to review documents from Kavanaugh’s time in the George W. Bush administration.
Proper Senate review of Kavanaugh’s record must include all records from his extensive service in the Bush administration. The Senate should use the same process for for considering those documents as it used for Justice Kagan in her time in the Clinton White House.
A rushed confirmation process prevents the American people from getting a full picture of the nominee. And it runs counter to the very process leading Republicans have demanded in the past.
Spread the word
Share these posts to raise awareness among your networks about how Senate Republicans are trying to rush the confirmation process.
The American people deserve to see Judge Kavanaugh’s entire record, too. #ReleaseTheRecords #WhatAreTheyHiding pic.twitter.com/p5EXBSOH6x
— American Constitution Society (@acslaw) August 17, 2018
.@ChuckGrassley said the Senate “needs enough time to adequately review” a #SCOTUS nominee’s record.
But he’s scheduled Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings BEFORE the National Archives will have even produced the requested documents.#ReleaseTheRecords #WhatAreTheyHiding pic.twitter.com/qr7NjOII6g
— American Constitution Society (@acslaw) August 17, 2018
Document Fight Analysis
The New York Times: Why Are Republicans Covering Up Brett Kavanaugh’s Past? by The New York Times Editorial Board
Slate: The Senate Must Closely Examine These Documents From Kavanaugh’s Bush Years by Peter M. Shane
USA Today: Would Brett Kavanaugh be a check on Trump if he tried to abuse his power? We need to know. by Caroline Fredrickson and Norm Eisen
The Washington Post: Republicans are obstructing a fair vetting of Brett Kavanaugh by John Podesta and Todd Stern
The Washington Post: Here’s who should demand to see Kavanaugh’s White House paper trail by Ron Klain, ACS Board member
Background and Analysis
On July 9, President Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Read a brief summary on Kavanaugh here.
President Trump has a radical far right agenda that is completely out of touch with the American mainstream; Brett Kavanaugh will be just another step forward in pressing that agenda.
Don’t fall for empty statements from Kavanaugh that he will follow settled law or make rulings based on the merits of cases before him. As the President’s nominee for the Court, Kavanaugh has met the President’s litmus test and will expressly target laws, freedoms, and protections that the radical far right has been trying to undo for decades. And based on his record, we know that Kavanaugh will:
- Threaten Roe v. Wade and the fundamental right of women to protect their bodies by ensuring access to safe and legal abortion
- Exacerbate the Supreme Court’s trend of favoring big corporations
- Allow Donald Trump’s abuses of power to go unchecked.
Listen to ACS Experts on the vacancy.
What Should Happen at Kavanaugh’s Hearing?
The Los Angeles Times: The Senate can demand answers from Brett Kavanaugh. If he isn’t honest, he shouldn’t be confirmed by Erwin Chemerinsky, ACS Board member
WBUR: How Badly Does The GOP Want Kavanaugh? So Much That They’ll Ignore Trump’s Treason by Kent Greenfield, ACS Faculty Advisor at Boston College Law School
The New York Times: How Will We Know What a Supreme Court Nominee Really Thinks? by Linda Greenhouse, ACS Board of Advisors member
The Washington Post: Kavanaugh faces a tougher path to confirmation than Gorsuch. Here’s why. by Ronald Klain, ACS Board of Advisors member
ACSblog: Questions for Judge Kavanaugh on his Disqualification from Certain Cases Involving the Powers and Immunities of the President by Alan Neff
The New York Times: Will Kavanaugh Provide Cover for Trump? by Caroline Fredrickson, ACS President and Norm Eisen, Co-Founder, CREW
Huffington Post: It’s Now Up To Senate Moderates To Save The Supreme Court by Geoffrey Stone, ACS Board of Advisors member
ACSblog: Yale Law Students Speak Out on Judge Kavanaugh by Cara Reichard, Co-President, Yale Law School ACS Chapter
ABA Journal: Chemerinsky: Conservatives’ victories in key cases are a harbinger of what is to come by Erwin Chemerinsky, ACS Board member
The Sacramento Bee: If you think the Supreme Court is conservative now, just wait for Kennedy’s retirement by Erwin Chemerinsky, ACS Board member
The New York Times: How Will We Know What a Supreme Court Nominee Really Thinks? by Linda Greenhouse, ACS Board of Advisors member
The Register-Herald: Before Kavanaugh vote, a refresher by Simon F. Haeder
ACSblog: Evaluating a Supreme Court Nominee by Joel Goldstein
What Does It Mean to Call Kavanaugh an Originalist?
Politico: Why You Shouldn’t Care Whether Kavanaugh Is an ‘Originalist’ by Aziz Huq
The Daily Beast: Dems Need to Pin Brett Kavanaugh on Which Constitution He Supports by Geoffrey R. Stone, ACS Board member
St. Louis Post Dispatch: The people’s court and the people’s rights by Gregory Magarian, ACS Faculty Advisor at Washington University School of Law
Tulsa World: Plain talk about ‘plain meaning’ by Tamara Piety, ACS Faculty Advisor at University of Tulsa College of Law
Kavanaugh is a Threat to Reproductive Rights
The St. Louis American: Kavanaugh is a Threat to Constitutional Right to Abortion and Birth Control by Jose Caldera, ACS member
The Washington Post: Reversing Roe v. Wade will be just the beginning by Ron Klain, ACS Board member.
The Boston Globe: Brett Kavanaugh’s record makes his antiabortion stance clear by Nancy Gertner, ACS Board member and Senior Lecturer on Law, Harvard University
The New York Times: The End of Abortion by Reva Siegel, ACS Board of Advisors member and Nicholas deB. Katzenbach Professor of Law at Yale Law School
The Hill: Yes, things can get worse — especially with Justice Kavanaugh, Michelle Goodwin
New York Magazine: A 2017 Kavanaugh Speech Will Become a Flash Point in Confirmation Fight, Ed Kilgore
The Daily Beast: Here’s What Life Was Like for Women in America Before ‘Roe’ by Geoffrey Stone, ACS Board of Advisors member
ACSblog: Stakes Couldn’t Be Higher With Court Selection by John Hamilton, Mayor of Bloomington, IN and Dawn Johnsen, Walter W. Foskett Professor of Law at Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Bangor Daily News: Any Supreme Court justice must affirm our personal liberty by Andrea L. Irwin
Will Kavanaugh Help Conservatives Overturn the ACA?
CNN: Kavanaugh’s Obamacare rulings under microscope as he meets Manchin by Joan Biskupic
Indianapolis Star: Affordable Care Act helps consumers by Liane Hulka,
The NWI Times: Kavanaugh hazardous to Hoosiers’ health by Fran Quigley
The Journal Gazette: Threat to Obamacare should disqualify Kavanaugh by Fran Quigley
Charleston Gazette-Mail: Health care, lives will be affected by Supreme Court choice by Jennifer D. Oliva
Charleston Gazette-Mail: Before Kavanaugh votes, senators must think of WV’s wellbeing, health by Simon F. Haeder
Knox News: Kavanaugh confirmation could devastate Americans with pre-existing conditions by Michele Johnson
Kavanaugh’s Threat to Separation of Powers
ACS Webinar: Game Changer: Brett Kavanaugh, Presidential Power, and the Mueller Investigation
ACSblog: Judge Kavanaugh on Separation of Powers by Carolyn Shapiro
NPR: What A Justice Kavanaugh Could Mean For The Mueller Investigation And Trump by Nina Totenberg, quoting Victoria Nourse and Steve Vladeck
ACSblog: Congress Should Be Concerned That Brett Kavanaugh Wants to Further Restrict Its Power by Dan Froomkin
ACSblog: The Special Counsel, Morrison v. Olson, and the Dangerous Implications of the Unitary Executive Theory by Victoria Nourse
Slate: Brett Kavanaugh’s Legal Opinions Show He’d Give Donald Trump Unprecedented New Powers by Jed Shugerman
Huffington Post: It’s Too Late For The Supreme Court, But Lower Courts Can Still Check Trump by Nancy Gertner, ACS Board member and Senior Lecturer on Law, Harvard University
Billings Gazette: Guest view: Kavanaugh will keep Trump’s legacy alive for decades by James C. Nelson, Montana Supreme Court Justice (Ret.)
How Will Kavanaugh Treat Workers?
Slate: Brett Kavanaugh Has His Own “Frozen Trucker” Case by Terri Gerstein, ACS State AG Project Advisory Committee
The Journal Gazette: Labor would be a loser in Kavanaugh votes by William R. Groth
The Las Vegas Sun: Supreme Court nominee doesn’t respect precedent by Ruben Garcia, ACS Board member
This piece was featured on SCOTUSblog
ACSblog: Judge Kavanaugh’s Dissent in OSHA Case Reflects Deep Skepticism Toward Federal Agency Enforcement of Workplace Protections by Ruben Garcia, Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Research and Professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law
How will Kavanaugh affect LGBTQ rights?
IndyStar: Where does Kavanaugh stand on LGBT issues? by Steve Sanders, ACS Faculty Advisor at Indiana University Maurer School of Law
The New York Times: Without Kennedy, the Future of Gay Rights Is Fragile by Adam Winkler, ACS Board member, and Kent Greenfield, ACS Faculty Advisor at Boston College Law School
How will Kavanaugh Deal with Money and Politics?
The Washington Post: Brett Kavanaugh, the man who created the super PAC by Albert W. Alschuler
What are Kavanaugh’s views on the 2nd Amendment?
WHYY: Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh’s gun views are clear by Michael Kunzelman and Larry Neumeister