It's been an eventful couple of weeks since our last current event post, however, the news story currently dominating headlines is about a political brawl brewing over President Trump's pick to fill the newly open seat on the Supreme Court.
Lets back up a minute, in late June Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy dropped a bombshell when he announced his resignation from the Supreme Court. In his letter of resignation to President Trump Kennedy announced he would resign on July 31, 2018 which effectively opened up a seat on the 9-member Supreme Court. Trump, as president, has the constitutional duty to nominate a new justice to fill the seat newly vacated by Kennedy, and the Senate has the constitutional duty to confirm the president's nomination.
This all sounds pretty standard so far, but, there are some political fireworks that accompany Kennedy's momentous decision that make his resignation, and Trump's nomination, so much more complicated.
First, the Supreme Court has been sharply divided along ideological lines (liberal vs conservative justices) and Kennedy played the role of swing justice. This mean that Kennedy was a bit of a wildcard who could and would side with both liberal and conservative viewpoints in different cases (he wrote the landmark ruling legalizing gay marriage and supported Trump's travel ban for example). His retirement gives President Trump the opportunity to appoint a much more conservative justice who might shift the court to being more conservative than liberal - a cause for celebration among Republicans and a cause for concern among Democrats.
Second, the Senate - who must confirm Trump's nominee - is controlled by the Republicans, which makes it even more likely that a very conservative justice will fill the open seat on the court. However, the Republicans control just 51 out of 100 seats in the Senate (51 votes are needed to confirm) which means that in order to confirm Trump's nominee all 51 must agree to vote together. If even 1 Republican votes against Trump's nominee then Kavanaugh get rejected and the process must start all over again.
Enter the Democrats and Trump's nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The 49 Democrats in the Senate have launched an all out attack on President Trump's nominee to fill Kennedy's open seat. Their hope is that they can convince a Republican Senator to vote against Kavanaugh and then hope Trump can't nominate a new justice until after Congressional elections in November when the Democrats hope to win back the Senate.
If this sounds a little confusing you're not wrong, so below there are a variety of sources that will help explain the important details and hopefully help you develop an opinion on all this.
New York Times Podcast: The Daily
The Daily: Trump Picks Brett Kavanaugh - scroll down and play the podcast with this title
Good article on the nomination and confirmation process in the Senate:
The path ahead for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh - From The Washington Post
Good articles on who President Trump's nominee Brett Kavanaugh is, and how his confirmation might change the Supreme Court:
Trump picks Brett Kavanaugh for Supreme Court - From CNN
How Brett Kavanaugh Would Change The Supreme Court - from FiveThirtyEight
Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, explained - from Vox.com
Brett Kavanaugh Is Trump’s Pick for Supreme Court - from The New York Times
Where Kavanaugh, Trump’s Nominee, Might Fit on the Supreme Court - from The New York Times
Questions for Discussion:
- Is Brett Kavanaugh qualified to be a Supreme Court justice?
- How would Kavanaugh change the Supreme Court if he were confirmed?
- What in Kavanaugh's background might make his confirmation by the Senate more difficult?
- Should Kavanaugh be confirmed by the Senate and become a member of the Supreme Court?
YOU MUST USE EVIDENCE FROM THE PODCAST AND 1 OTHER ARTICLE IN YOUR COMMENT
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| The nomination & confirmation process |
In the podcast, Trump mentions the selection of Supreme Court nominations from Ronald Reagan. He says that while two of the leaders were not democratic or conservative, they followed and applied the constitution as it is today. I followed up upon these two nominees and other things Ronald did for the Supreme Court. (this link goes more into depth about the impact of Ronald Reagan on the Supreme Court. https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/ronald-reagans-big-impact-on-the-supreme-court ) The two nominees who were immune to political parties was Justice Scalia and Justice Kennedy as we learned more in the articles above. Justice Antonin Scalia supported the rights of states, proved there was no constitution right to abortion, and endorsed one's right to carry a firearm. (https://www.oyez.org/justices/antonin_scalia ) I like how both Scalia and Kennedy were opposed to bias opinions, yet still followed the traditional rules. I believe Trump's nominee, Brett Kavanaugh will keep an open mind to all cases, yet like Kennedy and Scalia, will follow the traditional constitution. Brett seems to be suited for the job since as stated from Trump in the podcast, he is a judge on the US Court of Appeals, graduated from Yale Law School, teaches at Harvard, Yale and Georgetown, and has a commitment to equal justice. In the article, How Brett Kavanaugh Would Change The Supreme Court, it believes that Brett would change the Supreme Court into a more conservative than a liberal court. This would bring delight to the Republican party, which is why I believe Trump had the right idea by picking him. However, the fight from the democrats for Trump's pick reminds me of Justice Thomas, an African American who was known as the most conservative of the Supreme Court. Justice Thomas never participated much in the court discussions, however on written paper had brought his conservative views to the table. This was horror for democrats, which if Brett Kavanaugh goes into the Supreme Court, another horror will be brought to the democrats. Overall, I believe Trump had made a great choice, and that the Senators shall pick this brilliant man as their next Supreme Court seat.
ReplyDeleteBrett Kavanaugh is a 53 year old man who is married to Ashley kavanaugh and has two daughters. He is a judge on the US Court of appeals for the DC Circuit and Yale Law School graduate who previously served in both Bush administrations. He also worked on independent counsel Ken Starr's investigation of President Bill Clinton. Brett Kavanaugh has a clean background and has been involved in many acts and events in the white house prior to his nomination. But does all of make him a qualified Supreme court Justice? In the podcast, both Carl Hulse,the chief correspondent for The Times articles, and Adam Liptak, who covers the supreme court in the New York Times articles, agree that when President Trump was nominating the best out of his four candidates he really means the best. They say that Brett Kavanaugh out of all the other candidates he had the best credentials, the strongest resume, he had the most sophisticated opinion on the Judicial branch prior to and after his nomination,and he had the longest paper trail meaning that their is enough physical evidence to learn about his opinions on certain matters and what kind of character he has been over the years prior. So, with no bias, I would have to say out of all the candidates Brett Kavanaugh is the most qualified to be apart of the Supreme Court Justice. In the article,How Brett Kavanaugh would change the Supreme court, it discusses many of Kavanaugh's position in important cases like abortion and health care, his prior elections into the D.C. Court of Appeals with his ties with the Bush foundation, and his position on the Supreme Court as well as discussing how it would affect the conservative and liberal balance between the Justices. The most prominent parts of what Kavanaugh would immediately affect in the Supreme Court Justice if he is confirmed is as a stated before the conservative and liberal balance between the Justices. Unlike his predecessor, former Supreme Court of Justice Anthony Kennedy, Kavanaugh is a pure conservative party member. Where as Kennedy was in the middle ground. Meaning that he had both liberal and conservative opinions depending on the cases and which made him the perfect balance between both sides. But now with Kavanaugh being a conservative only person this drastically shifts the balance of the two sides with their being a larger conservative group than a liberal one. The Justice John Roberts who had a slightly more conservative opinion but can also choose a more liberal one if need be is the new balance between the two sides. But even then with Kavanaugh being a conservative only he drastically changes on how both sides are going to be represented and how the liberal side is going to be greatly affected by the now larger conservative opinions. Another major situation Kavanaugh would affect in the Supreme Court Justice is the backlash he, the senate, and the Supreme Court Justice would face if he is confirmed. In the article, it has confirmed that during his election for the D.C. Court of Appeals he was repeatably shot down and belittled greatly by the Democratic people even after he was confirmed into office. The Democrats had argued against his confirmation by saying he has a major lack of experience and that his close ties with Bush are the only reason he got in. Even Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy said at the time he was “the youngest, least experienced and most partisan appointee to the court in decades.” The article then ends with the months between if Brett Kavanaugh is going to be confirmed or not he will go through the same arguments, debates, and belittlement from many sides against his nomination. Which may also affect the senate and Supreme Court of Justice if they accept him. Overall, in my opinion, due to his opinion and arguments in recent events about abortion laws, health care benefits, and his opinion that the senate should exempt the president from criminal investigation and prosecution, which in my opinion is very silly, I believe that Brett Kavanaugh should not be confirmed into the Supreme Court of Justice.
ReplyDeleteBrett Kavanaugh is a 53 year old Yale graduate who previously had been known as a Senior Associate Counsel, Associate Counsel to the President, Assistant to the President, and a Staff Secretary. Recently by Trump's choice, Kavanaugh has been nominated to become an Associate Justice for the Supreme Court of the United States. In the Podcast by the Daily, Trump made it very clear that he wanted the best and believed Kavanaugh was the very best for the Supreme Court position. Kavanaugh's background includes his history as a Yale student, his political experience in the White House, and as Aaliyah said in her reponse,"out of all the other candidates he had the best credentials, the strongest resume, he had the most sophisticated opinion on the Judicial branch prior to and after his nomination". After hearing of his background and how highly The President views him it seems like Kavanaugh would be a good choice for the Associate Judge position of the Supreme Court based on just his educational and occupational background, but there is a lot of controversy. The position Kavanaugh would be filling would be of the retired Associate Judge of the Supreme Court, Anthony Kennedy. Anthony Kennedy is known to be a Conservative-Repbulican but he also sides with the Liberal wing of the court. Meaning Anthony is not a very strict Repbulican, he tends to side with both parties rather than sticking to his Republican title. This is very different from Kavanaugh who was accused of being too partisan by Democrats, said a TIME youtube video titled, "Brett Kavanaugh Is President Trump's Pick For The Supreme Court: Here's What You Need To Know" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH-Jikpt--c). That being said the Supreme Court would be effected by this change because it would take a more conservative lead. When Kennedy had the Supreme Court Associate Judge title, the Supreme Court had been split among 4 strictly known democrats and 4 strictly known Republicans. Anthony technically was a 5th republican but he did agree with both sides at certain times and didn't shift the justices to a majority of Republican standpoint. Kavanuagh will however be a 5th strictly known Republican. Meaning the Supreme Court will become more conservative. The fact that Kavanaugh was pointed out as being partisan can make it a bit more difficult for final confirmation of the Senate. Along with that fact that his appointment would be in republican favor/ against liberals. In my own opinion I do not think Kavanaugh should be appointed a Supreme Court Justice. Kavanaugh, although he is qualified based on his education and past occupations, is too conservative and biased for the Supreme Court. If he was appointed Supreme Court Justice there would be a majority view of Republicans. That being said I believe someone that is not biased to one party and also has good experience/background should be Appointed Justice, like Anthony Kennedy so that neither side feels too overweighed and the Supreme Court Justices aren't too effected from conservative direction.
ReplyDeleteBrett Kavanaugh is very qualified for the sumpreme court seat. He ha sheen serving as a judge. At 53 years young, he will be able to serve on the court for a while and hopefully be influential and decisive in cases that appear. Kavanaugh has had experience under Justice Kennedy but many conservatives are on the fence about him being nominated to the court. As Vox media states, “He has his defenders, but concern has been growing in right-wing legal circles about his decisions in religious liberty cases and on Obamacare.” Another topic of controversy was the Democratic Party wanting to delay Kavanaughs induction to the Supreme Court because of Former President Obama delaying his nomination to the court before his term ended. Democrats want to wait until after the midterm elections to officially put Kavanaugh in place, for they have the hopes that newly elected senate and congress officials will stop the nominee and put someone more liberal or independent to lead the charge for the seat. He does have outlandish ideas though. He suggests that the president should be able to block legal actions against him while he is in office. Just one more reason why Kavanaugh is a polarizing candidate. He has been previously described as “alt right” when it comes to certain cases because of his views of how power should be handled at the presidency and that certainly has a major impact on the entire court. With Kavanaugh nominated, the court will continue to swing to the right, which puts liberals in even more fear, claiming that “The plan to overturn Roe v. Wade at the Supreme Court is already in motion,” according to CNN who are under scrutiny from the right claiming that they put their political agenda first instead of reporting on news. Kavanaugh is a diverse pick with a long history of working in law dating back to as late as 1986. He has had experience in investigation from when he and a team investigated the apparent suicide of a former White House counsel member in the 90’s. Kavanaugh is an experienced man who is qualified to be in the Supreme Court but just barely. His ideals and past politics hinder him and that’s why his confirmation will be very well thought out.
ReplyDeleteThe podcast mentions that Kavanaugh has been called the, ”Forrest Gump of Republican politics” by Senator Durbin because of Kavanaugh's involvement in so many political events. Trump's choice of Kavanaugh is seen as controversial because of Kavanaugh’s rich history in Washington DC and in the White House. Both conservatives and liberals on the Supreme Court are worried about what could happen with the addition of Brett Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court Justice. Liberals are worried because his addition would add another conservative and make the conservative to liberal ratio 5 to 4, making liberals the minority. Conservatives are concerned because of some of Kavanaugh's past decisions and opinions. In order for Kavanaugh to be confirmed, all 51 Republican senate members must vote for him against the 49 Democrat senate members, who are desperately attempting to sway some of the Republicans minds. If they succeed in rejecting Kavanaugh, it will actually hurt the Democrats in the upcoming election. It would turn out to be a win-win situation for both parties in some ways if Kavanaugh was confirmed, so really, it is a clear decision.
ReplyDeleteWith everything Kavanaugh has been involved with in Washington DC, I wondered if that was all he did with his life. I found out that he usually does not speak about politics outside of work and some people he sees in his day to day life do not even know about his career at all. The article, “The elite world of Brett Kavanaugh” (https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/the-elite-world-of-brett-kavanaugh/2018/07/11/504d945e-8492-11e8-8f6c-46cb43e3f306_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.3bbd0b801259) also includes how he coaches his two daughters basketball team and regularly attends church. I found it interesting that his work is not his entire life like it sometimes is for other politicians. When it comes down to it, I believe Brett Kavanaugh would be an excellent individual to replace Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.
Brett Kavanaugh is a judge on the U.S Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He is a promising candidate nominated by President Donald Trump for the position of Supreme Court Justice. Trump described Kavanaugh as “one of the finest and sharpest legal minds of our time” and added that Kavanaugh is “considered a judge’s judge and a true thought leader among his peers” ( Eric Bradner, Joan Biskupic, Jeremy Diamond,CNN Trump Pick Brett Kavanaugh for Supreme Court). Based on his credentials and experience in law, Brett Kavanaugh is certainly qualified for the position of Supreme Court Justice. Judge Kavanaugh attended Yale law school and currently teaches at Yale, Harvard, and Georgetown according to the New York Times Podcast:The Daily (July 10, 2018). In the same podcast, Kavanaugh was referred to as “the Forest Gump of Republican politics” since he has played a role in various high profile moments in Washington D.C. He served in both Bush administrations and worked on the investigation of President Bill Clinton with independent counsel Ken Starr. If confirmed by the Senate, Judge Kavanaugh would be replacing Justice Anthony Kennedy who has been a frequent “swing vote” on the bench siding with his liberal colleagues on issues like abortion, LGBT rights and affirmative action. According to the Washington Post staff article The Path Ahead for Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh, it is expected that Kavanaugh would be far more conservative than Kennedy and this fact would likely change the balance of the Supreme Court in favor of conservatives. Many fear that “with Kavanaugh’s confirmation, the country would enter the age of the solid, 5-4 conservative majority” (How Brett Kavanaugh would change the Supreme Court, by Oliver Roeder and Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux, July 9, 2018). But, Kavanaugh states “I revere the constitution… I will keep an open mind in every case and always strive to preserve the constitution of the United States” (Podcast). In describing what he looks for in law clerks, Kavanaugh emphasized diverse viewpoints and backgrounds including women on his team.
ReplyDeleteThe Senate may have a difficult time reaching a decision quickly on Kavanaugh’s confirmation due to the amount of research, background checks, testimony and debate that will take place before the senate committee. The process may be further complicated by the 51 Republican - 49 Democratic seat split of the Senate when it comes to voting for confirmation. The Republicans will need to clear 50 votes in favor of Kavanaugh. Since Senator John McCain has been battling brain cancer, he has been unable to vote and this means the President cannot count on his vote. There are some Republican Senators who may not vote in favor of Kavanaugh’s confirmation because they are supportive of abortion rights,Maine’s Susan Collins and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, for example. ( Eric Bradner, Joan Biskupic, Jeremy Diamond,CNN Trump picks Brett Kavanaugh for Supreme Court) Overall,Judge Brett Kavanaugh should be confirmed by the Senate and become a member of the Supreme Court Justice System.
Kavanaugh is a phenomenal judge, but would be an astonishing justice of the Supreme Court Justice system because he is very conservative compared to others and the decisions he makes are more sophisticated than others as well.
I believe the 53 year old Brett Kavanaugh is suited to take his position on the supreme court. Kavanaugh is well suited for the job because of his previous experience in the court room in the District Of Colombia. Brett has an impressive background as stated by the podcast and was the candidate with the most potential to have a big impact on the supreme court. One of the reasons people think he may not be the right man for the job would be because of his opinions taken on the topic of abortion. Many politicians believe his mental purity may be a factor that should remove him from the running for supreme court. While I do agree that he should not support abortion I do think he would be able to change his views once he is with more people with different opinions so he can get “more sides to the story” in a way. Kavanaugh would also drastically change the balance in the supreme cour making their no longer an equal amount of republican and democratic politicians in the court. This is a driving factor to keep him removed from the supreme court because many democrats don’t want to have their sides opinion over looked due to the majority. This was unavoidable because their could not be someone to be in the middle the hole time and the same argument would be made if a democratic candidate was selected by the president. Over all I think Kavanaugh should be confirmed due to his age being able to work for a longer period of time and all of his background in the court. His downsides, I believe, are problems that can be fixed once he has time to discuss with more people. He over all had the best background of all the candidates and was the right choice from Trump and he should be confirmed in the Supreme Court. All evidence found from The New York Times podcast titled Trump picks Brett Kavanaugh and the article titled How would Brett Kavanaugh change the supreme court by the FiveThirtyEight.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that Judge Brett Kavanaugh is qualified for his nominated role as a Supreme Court Justice. Immediately in the podcast, President Trump says the Brett is the best candidate for the position, and has “Impeccable credentials, unsurpassed qualifications, and a proven commitment to equal justice under the law” (The Daily: Trump Picks Brett Kavanaugh). Kavanaugh is very suited to fit this position also because of his background. As he talks about in the podcast, his mother, Martha Kavanaugh, is also a judge, and Brett noted that "My introduction to the law came at our dinner table when she practiced her closing arguments.” He grew up around someone who was able to teach him a lot about law which is a very enriching experience as a younger kid. This childhood eventually pushed him to become a Yale graduate, and since then has played a very significant role in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He has served there since 2006, and according to CNN.com, he “worked in the George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush administrations,” as well as “became a lead author of the 1998 Starr Report that detailed Clinton's sexual involvement with Lewinsky and laid out 11 grounds for Clinton's impeachment, including obstruction of justice and lying under oath.” This involvement in the law shows that he is a very strong and promisable candidate for the Surpreme Court. However, if Brett Kavanaugh was to be confirmed as a member of the Surpreme Court, he would make significant changes there. Kavanaugh is most likely to be a conservative, and this would change the ratio of conservatives to liberals 5-4, which gives the conservatives a hierarchy in the court. Being a republican, Kavanaugh is obviously going to support the republican ideas. Since President Trump was elected, the Democratic Party has been struggling, and with another republican added into the mix, they are worried about how this is going to change the fate of the Surpreme Court as well as the country we live in.
ReplyDeleteDonald Trump recently nominated Brett Kavanaugh to take the place of Justice Anthony Kennedy. Judge Kavanaugh is a graduate of Yale college and Yale law school. In the podcast by, The Daily, Donald Trump states, “Judge Kavanaugh has impeccable credentials, unsurpassed qualifications, and a proven commitment to equal justice under the law.” This shows he is more than qualified to be a Supreme Court justice. He is highly thought of by others and chooses right in tough decisions. He also has a long paper trail which helps people see his opinion on many decisions he has made. Judge Kavanaugh is more conservative rather than liberal where as Justice Kennedy was more in the middle and went either way with some cases. Without Justice Kennedy the court is split 4 liberals 4 conservatives. If Kavanaugh is voted in, the court would be more conservative changing the outcome of many future cases where Justice Kennedy could have sided either way. If Judge Kavanaugh was voted in by the senate it would only be by a small majority in my opinion. There is a small difference between conservatives and liberals in the senate and if some disagree with some things Judge Kavanaugh agrees with it may change their vote. But the same could happen on the other side some liberals could agree with the presidents pick and vote him in so there is very little wiggle room for his acceptance. In my opinion I believe Judge Kavanaugh should be confirmed by the senate and become a member of the Supreme Court. I believe this because I agree with many of his decisions. In the case, Heller v. District of Columbia when the D.C. Circuit Court upheld a District of Colombia ordinance banning most semi-automatic rifles, Kavanaugh argued that the Second Amendment included the right to own semi-automatic rifles. He also says semi-automatic rifles and handguns are commonly used by law abiding citizens for many good reasons like self defense in the home, hunting, and many others. This is one example of many where I have agreed with his ruling or decisions. I also believe he will be a good fit in the court and make many great decisions.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the article "Brett Kavanaugh, DonaldTrumps Supreme Court Nominee, Explained" from vox.com I would conclude that Brett Kavanaugh is qualified to be a Supreme Court justice. Like other current justices who either attended Yale or Harvard, he attended Yale. The article described him as a "candidate straight out of the Supreme Court central casting" so check off the first box - he qualifies. His employment history for the past 12 years sitting on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit seems to be another good choice for him since three other current justices took the same path before him. These steps, therefore, seem to make him a qualified candidate for a Supreme Court justice. Check off another box. I was curious about "legal" qualifications required to become a SC justice so I looked it up under thelawdictionary.org. I was surprised to learn that qualifications for SC justices are "silent"- there aren't any spelled out. This is insane for such a high position. When there'e a vacancy on the Supreme Court, the President nominates a candidate like with Brett Kavanaugh and the Senate must vote to confirm. No particular school to attend is required although they do they seem to confirm nominees mainly who attend Yale or Harvard which makes me wonder what's up with that (a little biased!). I also found out many attend law school and work as a lawyer or a judge before being nominated, like Kavanaugh. There isn't even an age requirement before being nominated. With Brett Kavanaugh being only 53 years old, if he does get confirmed he can be a justice for many years if he wants to be one until he decides to retire. The only other way is to be forced to leave for bad behavior, impeached. If Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed, he fills the now vacant seat and this would change the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has nine justices in all and with the vacant seat it's evenly split between liberals (4) and conservatives (4). Kavanaugh is known to be a reliable conservative so if the Senate confirms his position in the Supreme Court, the article "How Brett Kavanaugh would change the Supreme Court" by FiveThirtyEight point outs that Kavanaugh would with his conservative voice and reliable vote tip "its balance significantly to the right for years to come". In other words, with 9 justices, Kavanaugh would most likely cause a 5-4 conservative majority vote. Confirming him would cause quite a stir for sure, especially to the liberals. In the podcast "The Daily: Trump Picks Brett Kavanaugh", Brett Kavanaugh said, "If confirmed by the Senate, I will keep an open mind in every case and will always strive to preserve the US Constitution and the American rule of law." Keeping an open mind as a judge is extremely important since the job of a judge is to be fair and impartial when deciding on issues.Justices also have to make important decisions based on their interpretation of the law and past precedents. I do think Brett Kavanaugh should be confirmed and become a member of the Supreme Court.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteTrump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to take the place of Justice Anthony Kennedy. Judge Kavanaugh is a graduate of Yale college and Yale law school. In the podcast by The Daily Donald Trump states “Judge Kavanaugh has impeccable credentials, unsurpassed qualifications, and a proven commitment to equal justice under the law.” This quote shows that he should be a member of the Supreme Court. He is respected by many others and made many right decisions to get him where he needs to be today. Judge Kavanaugh is more conservative rather than liberal but Justice Kennedy was towards the middle. Without Justice Kennedy the court is split 4 liberals 4 conservatives. If Kavanaugh is voted in, the court would favor conservatives. If Judge Kavanaugh was voted in by the senate it would only be by a small majority. Some liberals could agree with the presidents and vote him for him so there is not a lot of space for his acceptance. I believe Judge Kavanaugh should be confirmed by the senate and become a member of the Supreme Court. I believe this because of the decision he has made. I also believe he will do good in court and make good decisions, like gun laws
Matt,
DeleteYou need to provide evidence to support, "I believe this because of the decision he has made. I also believe he will do good in court and make good decisions...". More analysis and development of your position is needed in future comments.
President Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to become the next Judge of the Supreme Court. Anthony Kennedy is the former justice. Brett Kavanaugh is definitely qualified to have this position because he is a graduate of Yale college and Yale law school according to the podcast by The Daily. Also, Brett Kavanaugh is conservative, which means the laws on abortion and other controversial things could be altered if he is confirmed. What could make it difficult for him to be confirmed is the fact that there are still many liberals in the senate, as there are 49 compared to 51 conservatives. Judge Kavanaugh is 53 years old, so he will be able to serve for years. His background may make it tough because of his legal views. According to the New York Times, "Judge Kavanaugh’s long history of legal opinions, as well as his role in some of the fiercest partisan battles of the last two decades, will give Democrats plenty of ammunition for tough questions". He also wanted to get President Clinton impeached, which could impact our president. I believe that Brett Kavanaugh should be confirmed and become a member of the Supreme Court, because I believe he can make good choices on laws such as LGBT rights and many others.
ReplyDeleteJudge Brett Kavanaugh is a 53 year old Yale College and Yale Law school grad who has taught at Harvard, Yale, and Georgetown. Although Kavanaugh seems to be heavily conservative, his students claim he does not force just conservative views on them and “presented the other side quite well, even though he likely shared most of those conservative views” (Adam Liptak, NY Times, Brett Kavanaugh as seen by his law students). This quality is important for a Supreme Court Judge to have, seeing as their task is to vote as best as they can to abide by the law, rather than to vote just as in-party. Judge Kavanaugh’s credentials prove he is qualified to be a Supreme Court Justice. He’s had 12 years of practice serving as a Judge on the U. S. D.C Circuit Court of Appeals and taught at three different law schools. His previous experience shows that he is no rookie and will probably be a not only practiced but grounded Justice if he is appointed to the Supreme Court. Based on his past Kavanaugh would most likely sway towards the conservative end of the scale and according to the article “The path ahead for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh” by the Washington Post staff, Kavanaugh places next to Clarence Thomas on an estimated scale which would make him the second highest conservative Judge in the Supreme Court. Another conservative Judge on the Supreme Court would make the conservative side the larger group with 5 Republican Justices and 4 Democratic Justices. Even though most of the conservative judges are not moderate, this does not mean their choices will strictly be party-line-vote. Their job is to vote according to law, not personal opinion. Kavanaugh is different from prior Justice Anthony Kennedy as Kennedy was more towards the Liberal side and voted both ways, but this does not mean Kavanaugh will just vote party-line, he is known to gravitate towards conservative reasonings however, his decisions will remain undetermined until his possible appointing. In the Podcast, “Trump Picks Brett Kavanaugh” by “The Daily”, Kavanaugh states his job as a judge and how he has to “hire four law clerks each year” and he boldly states he is “proud that a majority of my law clerks have been women”, Adam Liptak (covers Supreme Court for NY Times) points out that Kavanaugh possibly made this statement because he needs the women’s vote in the Senate. But still, that does not change the fact that many of his law clerks have been women, which needless to say is surprising for a man who is as conservative as he is. The counter argument is a Judge like Kavanaugh will tip the scale and make the votes more conservative, rather than having a “wild card” like Kennedy, who was notorious for his voting on both sides. But his party does not mean he is tied down to just one side to vote. Another issue is When the time comes, another Justice’s seat will need to be filled, will President Trump nominate a Democrat, or a Republican? This issue will be more prevalent if Kavanaugh is elected since the Conservative number of Judges would be the Majority. If Trump (or other current president) nominates another Conservative, many democrats will be upset and the Democratic side of the senate will likely vote against the conservative nominee. Kavanaugh’s confirmation may be difficult since the Republican Senate is only a slight majority of 51-49, and it is unlikely (not impossible but doubtful) that the democrats on the Senate will vote out of party-line, especially for a major conservative like Kavanaugh. I think Kavanaugh should be confirmed and appointed to become a member of the Supreme Court since he has had the experience and the knowledge that is needed to fulfill the tasks of a Supreme Court Justice. Another Conservative member of the Supreme Court may help make more reasonable decisions that are needed.
ReplyDeleteGood post Tyler!
DeleteBrett Kavanaugh is indeed qualified to be a member of the supreme court because he has attended and graduated both Yale Law School and Yale College, as it says in the podcast. If he was confirmed by the Senate the Supreme Court would turn into more of a Republican system than both Democratic and Republican. This is because Kennedy, the person who resigned from the Supreme Court was sort a wildcard in the group, who could decide with either Democrats or Republicans. If Kavanaugh was brought into the group, it would turn one sided and unfair. Although he sounds like a good candidate, the Senate itself is more Republican, and they will most likely try to confirm Trumps candidate. The only problem is that Republicans control 51 out of the 100 seats on the Senate. This means that if 1 Republican decides against Trump, he will have to nominate a whole new member. The Senate should not confirm Brett Kavanaugh, because he will turn the Supreme Court one sided. It should always be even between Democrats and Republicans, and adding him just wouldn't work. Instead, another wildcard candidate should be found who can decide with both political parties on decisions, so the Court could stay in balance.
ReplyDeleteBrett Kavananaugh is a 53 year old conservative nominated by President Trump to be part of the Supreme Court justice. Kavanaugh is very qaulified for this position because he graduated from Yale with a law degree in 1987. He then went on to work as a law clerk for a judge in the United States Courts of Appeals up until 2006, when he was nominated by former President George W. Bush to be a judge in the the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit up until the present. All of this experience makes him more than qualified to be part of the Supreme Court. If Kavanaugh was confirmed to be a new judge then the Supreme Court would be far more conservative then before because he was far right views beliefs compared to retired Judge Anthony Kennedy who was not far right nor far left and was considered to be a swing vote among the court. If he was confirmed then the decisions made by the Supreme Court would likely have more conservative influence. One of the problems with confirming Kavanaugh into the court would be getting the votes needed from the senate because there is 51 republican senators compared to the 49 democrats do even if one republican votes against Kavanaugh then a tie breaking vote would be needed but if 2 republicans vote against grim then he is out of the run to be part of the Supreme Court. Brett Kavanaugh should be part of the Supreme Court so there could be a more conservative influence and the court would support Trump and his policies so the country could grow and Trump could have a more successful presidency.
ReplyDeleteMike,
DeleteGood post, but remember the role of the Supreme Court is different from the other branches. Because they are not elected by the people their job is not to "support Trump and his policies so the country could grow and Trump could have a more successful presidency". Their job is to serve as a check and balance on the other two branches, so if the court will favor Trump because of politics and not because of law that might be problematic.
After Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy revealed that he would resigning from the Supreme Court in late June, President Trump immediately began the plans to fill the open void with a recommendation of his own. This mans name is Brett Kavanaugh. Many people debate whether or not this man fits the requirements to becoming a Supreme Court Justice. He is qualified to become a Justice because he has had a strong background in the government including being a federal appeals court judge and working in the White House. In adittion to that, President Trump stated that he is "one of the finest and sharpest legal minds in our time" and not to mention his Ivy league degree from Yale (The New York Times). Kavanaugh would change the Supreme Court if he were confirmed because the Republicans would gain even more power in the government. Other Republican slot would be filled joining the most recent Neil Gorsuch who was appointed by President Trump last year. Decisions now could be easily made in the government as now the Republicans have control over the senate and now the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh's background may make it harder for him to be confirmed by the senate because he has ties with the Bush family and also because of his case against Clinton, for it can be used against President Trump and the Russia allegations. I believe that he should be confirmed as a Supreme Court Judge because he is just as qualified as anyone else is for the job. Also, he seems sinire when stating that he will promise to uphold this great country's Constitution. I look forward to see what he will do in the future and how his choices will impact our daily lives.
ReplyDeleteTrump has just selected Brett Kavanaugh for supreme court justice. I believe that he is right for this spot because of hi background in politics before. Also Trump says that he will "set political views" and "state the Constitution as written. Brett has a background of law from Yale.He has been tied with the Bushes and on time was an investigator for the Clinton case. Brett has also said he will "keep an opened mind for every case". I do believe that Trump's selection is a good selection because of all of Brett's ties to other government things like working with the Bushes and being an investigator for the Clinton trial also how he came from Yale studying law. He also worked with the previous Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy which will also help him with being selected. All in all I do agree with Trump's decision because Kavanaugh has many relations with many previous government officials which means he has experience in this and his back round in law is also huge factor in why Trump selected Brett Kavanaugh
ReplyDeleteAccording to many of the articles, there are many reasons as to why Brett Kavanaugh should be selected for Supreme Court Justice. Kavanaugh gratuated from Yale, and is Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court Justice. In the CNN article, it states, "Trump picks Brett Kavanaugh for Supreme Court".According to this article, Kavanaugh has political experience, seeing that he has worked in the White House, and has practiced law with George W Bush. Brett's work got nothing but positive feedback from his work. Kavanaugh is an overall good man, seeing he is a loyal friend, father, and husband. Overall, he is a good man, and makes the best decisions on what he thinks is right, and best for everyone and not just himself. According to "The Path Ahead for Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh" by Washington Post, it says," Kavanaugh is more likely to be conservative than Kennedy, who was known as a swing vote on the court." This may not work well in Trump's favor, since he as well is conservative and would want someone that agrees with his ideas. All in all, Brett Kavanaugh is a good nominee for the Supreme Court Jusice because of his knowledge in politics, and being a conservative man, and doing what is right for the people.
ReplyDeleteTo figure out whether or not Brett Kavanaugh qualifies in my eyes, I will need to see if he has experience in what he is about to do. According to the article on fivethirtyeight.com titled 'How Brett Kavanaugh Would Change The Supreme Court' by Oliver Roeder and Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux, Kavanaugh is 53 and "a judge on the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, where he’s served since 2006". He has also attended law school at Yale, and teaches at Harvard. Kavanaugh should be confirmed by the Senate because he is qualified. He is qualified because he has 12 years of experience and went to the best schools. Also, according to the podcast,he is the "portrait of a fully-rounded person who's not only a legal wonk, which he is, but he's also a dad, he's active in his community". A man who is smart, fully engaged, and, according to him, "look(s) for the best", is qualified for Supreme Court Justice, as we know he is committed and flexible. Kavanaugh, if confirmed as Supreme Court Justice, will make a change in the way the government is run that democrats will not like. He has made many conservative moves in his lifetime, which has won him the praise of Republicans. The ratio of liberals to conservatives on the Supreme Court will be 4:5, which causes an imbalance, while the prior Supreme Court Justice was a wild card who created a balance. Overall, Kavanaugh should be confirmed because he is qualified, and he is qualified because, even though there are no technical qualifications, he is alike most other prior Sumpreme Court Justices; he attended a prestigious school and worked for a good amount of time, so he had plenty of experience. With that stated, he would change the Supreme Court because he is Republican, on the same side as Trump, which will cause the government to be a more conservative one, which is to the distaste of many Democrats. There is sure to be much hate directed towards Trump if Kavanaugh is confirmed, but I see a future that is brighter than others think it will be, because of Kavanaugh.
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ReplyDeleteBrett Kavanaugh is qualified to be a Supreme Court justice because of his education and professional background. The 53 year old worked in D.C. previously under George W. Bush as a staff secretary. He graduated from Yale and Yale Law School and also he served on the appeal courts for 12 years.
Kavanaugh would change the Supreme Court if he was confirmed because it would make a conservative majority, which would allow them to easily pass and deny laws. According to Trump in the podcast, the confirmation of Kavanaugh would certainly overrule the Roe vs Wade decision as the conservatives and Pro-Life members increased on the Supreme Court.
Kavanaugh’s history of partisan legal service delayed his confirmation and could even prolong past November due to his abundant record. His last confirmation hearing in 2006 may also come back to work against him. Several Democrats felt his answers to questions about the detainee policy were unsatisfactory and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell warned that these two factors and the tedious process of going through his record could provide many issues to debate.
I believe Kavanaugh should not be confirmed by the Supreme Court because he has been criticized by both liberals and conservatives. According to Vox, “”Kavanaugh would almost certainly fall to the right of Anthony Kennedy as a Supreme Court justice, and enable a rightward shift in the Court’s jurisprudence for years or decades to come. Even more concerning for liberals, he has suggested enhancing the president’s power to block criminal and civil actions against him, a potentially worrisome position when the president nominating him is under investigation and facing multiple lawsuits.”Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy lambasted him as “the youngest, least experienced and most partisan appointee to the court in decades.” Kavanaugh has gone against many religious liberties and freedoms.
Brett Kavanaugh is qualified to be on the supreme court because all the constitution requires for someone to be a justice is for them to be educated in law. Brett has a degree from Yale. Brett will probably make the court more conservative. But according to CNN Brett has no known stances on roe v wade or gay right (https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/09/politics/trump-supreme-court-pick/index.html). Yes i do think Brett Kavanaugh should be confirmed by the senate because he conservative and I tend side on the right side of the aisle when comes to most political issues.
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