As of this morning, nearly 1,000 law professors from around the nation, including many from Yale University, Brett Kavanaugh’s alma mater, have signed a letter to the United States Senate urging them to vote “NO” on Kavanaugh.
The professors cited the importance of “judicial temperament” and noted that Brett Kavanaugh is seriously lacking the temperament needed for the U.S. Supreme Court. They noted his aggressive behavior toward members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and his partisan statements that make clear he lacks the impartiality required for the Supreme Court.
Here is a portion of that letter, which (as of the time of this post) has the signatures of 907 law professors from 154 different law schools. The full letter can be seen below.
We are law professors who teach, research, and write about the judicial institutions of this country. Many of us appear in state and federal court, and our work means that we will continue to do so, including before the United States Supreme Court. We regret that we feel compelled to write to you to provide our views that at the Senate hearings on Thursday, September 27, 2018, the Honorable Brett Kavanaugh displayed a lack of judicial temperament that would be disqualifying for any court, and certainly for elevation to the highest court of this land.
The question at issue was of course painful for anyone. But Judge Kavanaugh exhibited a lack of commitment to judicious inquiry. Instead of being open to the necessary search for accuracy, Judge Kavanaugh was repeatedly aggressive with questioners. Even in his prepared remarks, Judge Kavanaugh located the hearing as a partisan question, referring to it as “a calculated and orchestrated political hit,” rather than acknowledging the need for the Senate, faced with new information, to try to understand what had transpired. Instead of trying to sort out with reason and care the allegations that were raised, Judge Kavanaugh responded in an intemperate, inflammatory, and partial manner, as he interrupted and, at times, was discourteous to questioners.
As you know, under two statutes governing bias and recusal, judges must step aside if they are at risk of being perceived as or of being unfair. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 144, 455. As this Congress has put it, a judge or justice “shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” 28 USC § 455.
Here’s the full open letter to the United States Senate
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