Senate Confirms Brett Kavanaugh to D.C. Circuit Court
Feature Story by Tyler Lewis - 5/25/2006
Brett Kavanaugh, President Bush's nominee to the D.C. Circuit Court, was confirmed Thursday, 57-36.Civil rights groups are dismayed that a nominee with Kavanaugh's dismal qualifications was confirmed. Given his lack of experience as a litigator and a judge, groups have said that he is unfit for a seat on the second most important court in the nation.
Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, said that LCCR "vehemently deplores" Kavanaugh's confirmation. "We can only hope that Kavanaugh will rise to the standards of impartiality and judicial rigor that this appointment requires. As a federal judge, he will have the enormous responsibility of making decisions that affect our everyday lives," Henderson said.
After two hearings civil rights groups insist that the Senate and the American people should know more about Kavanaugh's role, as White House Staff Secretary, in the Bush Administration's most controversial policies.
The Bush administration has come under increased fire in recent months for its extreme antiterrorism policies, including the wiretapping of American citizens without a warrant, denying detainees some protections under the Geneva Conventions, and authorizing torture as a method of interrogation. Despite the fact that the second hearing on May 9 was held to ascertain Kavanaugh's level of involvement in these policies, he refused to answer any questions about them.
Civil rights groups also point to the fact that in his White House job, Kavanaugh was tasked with vetting judicial nominees, including controversial nominees Priscilla Owen, Dennis Shedd, Janice Rogers Brown, Miguel Estrada, and William Pryor. Kavanaugh refused to answer questions on this topic in both hearings, as well.
Kavanaugh was first nominated to the court in July of 2003, but his nomination stalled after his hearing in March 2004. The Bush administration renominated him in February 2006, shortly after Judge Samuel Alito's confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The D.C. Circuit is considered to be the second most influential court in the country, following the U.S. Supreme Court, because it has jurisdiction over many government agencies.
