Bucks students and professors had mixed reactions to the news that Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of sexual assault while under the influence, was confirmed as the new Supreme Court Justice on Oct 6. Kavanaugh now has life tenure on the most important court in the country.
“He should have been rescinded due to his display of his character during the hearing. He was very aggressive and agitated while sober. What is he like when he’s intoxicated?” said freshman Jennifer Abele.
But freshman student Lucy Pavlow felt that Kavanaugh shouldn’t have been rescinded until after an investigation was done to decisively prove if the allegations were true or false.
President Donald Trump nominated Kavanaugh. Before his confirmation, Palo Alto University psychology Professor Christine Blasey Ford anonymously contacted the Washington Post tip line with allegations that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her in the early 1980s when the two of them were in high school.
After Ford came forward with the allegations, so did two other women. Kavanaugh has denied the accusations and had to go through a Senate Judiciary hearing and a week-long FBI investigation that delayed his confirmation.
Despite the allegations against him, the Senate confirmed Kavanaugh’s nomination by a vote of 50-48, and on Oct. 6. Kavanaugh replaced former Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was appointed by former President Reagan in 1987.
Although Kennedy is a Republican he was known as the Supreme Court’s swing vote on most cases, one of the most famous being Obergefell v. Hodges, the case that legalized same-sex marriage.
Political observers say Kavanaugh’s confirmation makes the court even more likely to side with the Republicans. According to CNN, “[Kavanaugh] is expected to vote consistently with the conservative block.”
Bucks Language and Literature Professor Annette Conn predicts we will see “many years of 5-4 decisions always made along party lines with little or no independent thinking.”
On Kavanaugh’s first day as an Associate Justice, a group of about 40 women protested outside of the court. One of the women is Jasmine Morales, 20, from San Jose, California. She told USA Today that she spent 48 hours in jail over the past weekend for protesting against Kavanaugh at the Supreme Court.
Morales said, “If I can continue to fight for people, then I will.” Standing outside of the Courthouse wasn’t the only way people protested: law students walked out of their classes in New York on Wednesday Oct 6, just one day after Kavanaugh heard his first cases.
One main concern about Kavanaugh is his views on women’s rights, especially on cases like Roe v. Wade that provide access to abortion. There has been speculation by media outlets like Vox that Kavanaugh will do what he can to overturn Roe v Wade. There was a controversial Facebook post made in regard to that by West Virginia councilman Eric Barber. His post, that has since been deleted, read: “Better get you’re [sic] coat hangers ready.”
“He will do all he can to overturn Roe vs. Wade. And Susan Collins has helped him. That’s why thousands of coat hangers were delivered to her office before the vote—to remind her of all the back-alley abortions that will make a comeback, along with the danger and death associated with illegal abortions,” said Conn when asked if she felt Kavanaugh would try to protect and advocate for Women’s rights.
“[Kavanaugh’s confirmation] was a huge defeat for women and victims of sexual assault,” said Abele.