What Justice Kavanaugh Means for the Future of the Supreme Court

By KrisAnne Hall, JD

American now has Justice Kavanaugh, how will Kavanaugh affect the ideological makeup of the Supreme Court? A reasoned and factual view of this subject should give us a very good idea of the future of a Supreme Court with Justice Kavanaugh.

In spite of the left’s phony hysteria, Judge Kavanaugh was molded in the image of Justice Kennedy and voted nearly in lock step with Merrick Garland in the District Court and Susan Collins gave a very detailed defense of why Kavanaugh was liberal enough for her to confirm him citing Kavanaugh’s judicial record that:

He is pro-Obamacare,
He is in favor of the expansion of federal power over the 4th A restrictions
His attachment to precedent makes him very unlikely to overturn Roe or any other opinion he feels is well settled precedent.

A reasoned view of all the issue that have been highlighted by the political narrative prove that his opinions will very likely be no different than Kennedy’s.

I don’t see a tremendous change for the supreme Court. Neil Gorsuch is the Justice that probably moved the court more toward the Constitution since he holds the Constitution as the ultimate standard, where Kavanaugh hold court precedent higher than the Constitution. Kavanaugh’s appointment does not so much move the court as it does stabilize the court as it has existed for many decades or at least until Ginsberg retires and Trump nominates another justice.

It is unfortunate that Kavanaugh’s confirmation was turned into a political tool for votes. We know this is the truth because his presence on the supreme court is absolutely no threat to any of the democrats’ judicial idols. And both sides will now benefit in November from the unnecessary turmoil created by this political theater.

Justice Elena Kagan made the statement regarding the code of civility held by the justices. The liberal left are asserting that Kavanaugh will somehow disrupt that tradition of civility. Let’s be clear, the justices are not going to brawl with one another. That’s just not how the court operates. They hear the arguments, ask their questions, then issue their opinions. They are not constantly in the spotlight having to make speeches and triangulate public opinion like other politicians, so I don’t see some kind of partisan infighting erupting in the Supreme Court.

We know from the relationships of past justices, justices are capable of having very disparate ideologies and still behave in a professional and civil manner. Kavanaugh’s behavior in the senate hearings, where he was being personally attacked, cannot be compared to a court hearing where a panel of judges are deciding the legal outcome of cases. Even Scalia and Ginsberg who could not have been more different ideologically were reported to be very good friends.

Additionally, pick up any Supreme Court decision from Kagan, Ginsberg, or even Kennedy and you will see that Partisanship manifests itself in their published opinions not in their personal interactions. So even the claims that Kavanaugh will somehow insert a foreign element of “partisan bias” into the supreme Court is laughable.

The entire experience of the Senate Hearings may have a lasting effect upon Kavanaugh, but not in the way the liberal left are trying to propose. What we may find is a Brett Kavanaugh with a stronger affinity to the Constitutional standards of privacy and property. Through this horrific personal experience Kavanaugh may have become more empathetic toward those whose rights have been violated by an out of control, unlimited government power. He may, in the future, have a new found appreciation for the principles that limit and define government authority to the protection of the rights of the people. That would not be a bad thing, that would be a very good thing.