Tag Archives: Justice Anthony Kennedy

Kavanaugh nominated: let the games begin!

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And begin they have, quite before President Trump (how I enjoy writing those two words together) even announced his selection.

From the WashingtonTimes.com:

Democrats vow to vote ‘No’ on Supreme Court nominee regardless of whom Trump picks

by Alex Swoyer

Some Democrats said they don’t have to wait for President Trump to pick a Supreme Court nominee — they’re voting “No” regardless of who he names.

Sen. Bob Casey became the latest one, saying Monday that the entire process the president has followed was “corrupt” because he was working from a list he wrote with the help of the conservative Heritage Foundation and Federalist Society.

“Any judge on this list is fruit of a corrupt process straight from the D.C. swamp,” he said.

Other Democrats, still salty over the GOP’s treatment of one of President Obama’s nominees in 2016, said they won’t accept any nominee until after the November election.

Leftist obstructionists, just as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says here:

Then on Monday, as promised, President Trump announced his SCOTUS selection. From the NYTimes.com:

Brett Kavanaugh Is Trump’s Pick for Supreme Court

by Mark Landler & Maggie Haberman

President Trump on Monday nominated Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, a politically connected member of Washington’s conservative legal establishment, to fill Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s seat on the Supreme Court, setting up an epic confirmation battle and potentially cementing the court’s rightward tilt for a generation.

The nomination of Judge Kavanaugh, 53, a federal appeals court judge, former aide to President George W. Bush and onetime investigator of President Bill Clinton, was not a huge surprise, given his conservative record, elite credentials and deep ties among the Republican legal groups that have advanced conservatives for the federal bench.

That was the New York Times. You can see the slant bleeding through. And of course what I term the “Kavalanche” of objection commenced like a goose greasing the sluices after having had crab cakes and broccoli.

We could have gotten another Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who doesn’t believe in the US Constitution at all — wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

In reaction prior to the announcement, not once does Socialist Bernie Sanders mention the importance of the US Constitution or the Bill of Rights below. He does not delineate positive vs negative rights or the reason for the Constitution itself which is, of course, why the US Supreme Court exists. Separation of powers. The Founding Fathers. The fundamental reason for the creation of this nation in the first place.

There is this as well, from Fox News:

A brief bit of reality from CNN:

Let’s be honest: the fundamental problem with Brett Kavanaugh is this, from Breitbart.com:

Kavanaugh: Judges Must Interpret, Not Make Law, Interpret Statues and Constitution as Written

by Ian Hanchett

After the announcement of his nomination to the Supreme Court, Judge Brett Kavanaugh stated, “A judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law. A judge must interpret statutes as written, and a judge must interpret the Constitution as written, informed by history and tradition and precedent.”

Kavanaugh said, “The framers established that the Constitution is designed to secure the blessings of liberty. Justice Kennedy devoted his career to securing liberty. I am deeply honored to be nominated to fill his seat on the Supreme Court.”

He later added, “My judicial philosophy is straightforward. A judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law. A judge must interpret statutes as written, and a judge must interpret the Constitution as written, informed by history and tradition and precedent. For the past 11 years, I’ve taught hundreds of students, primarily at Harvard Law School. I teach that the Constitution’s separation of powers protects individual liberty, and I remain grateful to the dean who hired me, Justice Elena Kagan. As a judge, I hire four law clerks each year. I look for the best. My law clerks come from diverse backgrounds and points of view. I am proud that a majority of my law clerks have been women.”

Kavanaugh concluded, “I will tell each senator that I revere the Constitution. I believe that an independent judiciary is the crown jewel of our constitutional republic. If confirmed by the Senate, I will keep an open mind in every case, and I will always strive to preserve the Constitution of the United States and the American rule of law.”

Judge Brett Kavanaugh stated:

Another wrinkle, from the WashingtonTimes.com:

Susan Collins, Joe Manchin, other swing votes open to Trump’s Supreme Court pick

by Stephen Dinan

The senators who will most likely decide Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s fate were studiously noncommittal Monday, promising a thorough and fair vetting before they say whether they’ll support his nomination to the Supreme Court.

Only a few Republicans and a handful of Democrats are likely in play in the closely divided Senate.

And depending on absences, a single Republican defection could sink the pick — while the support of one or two Democrats could guarantee Judge Kavanaugh will be on the high court by the time the next term begins in October.

Sen. Susan Collins, the Republican that Democrats are most likely to sway, said Judge Kavanaugh brough “impressive credentials and extensive experience.”

But she wouldn’t go further.

How many Demorats will line up behind Brett Kavanaugh simply because he’s, truly, offensive as fresh milk or blue sky?

You see, a bit of the bottom line must be this: Judge Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed by the US Senate back in 2006 by a positive margin of 21 Senators, with a tally of 57 to 36. He has repeatedly been upheld by SCOTUS, having heard over 300 cases.

What has changed since then?

Only one thing: President Donald John Trump.

BZ

 

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Neil Gorsuch confirmed as SCOTUS associate justice

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From FoxNews.com:

Gorsuch sworn in as Supreme Court justice ahead of key cases

Justice Neil Gorsuch, vowing to be a “faithful servant” to the Constitution, was sworn in Monday to the Supreme Court, capping a grueling confirmation process and filling the seat once held by the late Antonin Scalia. 

The latest addition to the court was sworn in at a public ceremony in the Rose Garden. Justice Anthony Kennedy – Gorsuch’s former boss – administered the Judicial Oath, the second of two Gorsuch took.

“To the American people, I am humbled by the trust placed in me today,” Gorsuch said after taking the oath. “I will never forget to whom much is given to much will be expected, and I promise you that I will do all my powers permit to be a faithful servant of the Constitution and laws of this great nation.”

At the ceremony, President Trump called Gorsuch a man of “unmatched qualification” and “deeply devoted” to the Constitution.

“I have no doubt you will rise to the occasion, and the decisions you make will protect our Constitution today and for many generations of Americans to come,” he said.

The second of my two primary Trump Voting Factors has occurred. Antonin Scalia’s position on the US Supreme Court has been filled with a Scalia-like jurist.

The WashingtonPost.com writes:

Gorsuch will be put to work immediately. The court meets privately Thursday to consider cases for the next term. On the list is a plea that the court decide whether the Second Amendment grants a right to carry firearms outside the home. Another case asks whether businesses may refuse to provide wedding services to same-sex couples.

Next week, the court begins its last round of oral arguments for the term. Gorsuch, who in the past has defended the rights of religious objectors to laws they say violate their beliefs, could be the deciding vote in a major “separation of church and state” case from Missouri.

The timing is perfect and, for once, I have to tip my hat to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. He persevered in terms of enacting the so-called “Joe Biden Rule” and held his mud against the firestorm that resulted from the Demorats. Let us review the rule:

McConnell took serious heat but kept on track. Further, he displayed spine in terms of activating the nuclear option in the face of the Demorat filibuster.

It is possible the court may reveal that it is deadlocked on several cases it has heard this term. The court, with four liberals nominated by Democratic presidents and four mostly conservative justices picked by Republicans, would schedule rehearings in those cases so Gorsuch could break the ties.

Moreover, one of the most important cases for the GOP and conservatives is just around the corner.

And in a matter of weeks, the court might be called upon to get involved in Trump’s second travel ban targeting refugees and people entering the United States from certain countries.

In some ways, Gorsuch is the prototypical justice. He is the 109th man among the 113 justices in the court’s history. All but two of the men were white. He is a favorite of the conservative legal establishment and has family roots in Republican politics.

Like five of his colleagues, Gorsuch attended Harvard Law School; the others went to Yale. He was hired as a Supreme Court clerk by fellow Coloradan Justice Byron White. Because White had retired by then, Gorsuch was loaned to Kennedy for the 1993-94 term.

He becomes the first former clerk to serve on the court alongside his boss.

GOP 1, Demorats and Leftists, 0.

BZ

 

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