On October 6th, 2018 the Senate officially confirmed Judge Brett Kavanaugh to be an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States in a 50–48 vote.
This confirmation shifted the court in favor of those who have an originalist and contextualist view of the constitution. The confirmation process was incredibly controversial and resulted in both supporters and dissenters believing the opposing side handled the confirmation poorly.
Kavanaugh was accused of sexual assault shortly after the Senate committee had concluded its regular judicial questioning. We believe Kavanaugh was a victim of political histrionics by the Democratic party, who made up their minds on Kavanaugh long before the committee hearing.
In the age of the #Metoo movement, we realize that sexual assault and rape are an absolute act of evil and need to be met with swift justice. We believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, the accusser, has experienced traumatic sexual abuse in her past. We hope that she can escape the chessboard of politics and be seen as a legitimate victim rather than a political pawn.
The Democrats, who championed Ford’s testimony, never had any intention of protecting Ford or Kavanaugh. Dianne Feinstein, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, received Ford’s written words on the sexual assault allegation six weeks prior to the committee hearing. Throughout the entire hearing, Feinstein never released this document to her peers or questioned the Judge under penalty of perjury. This is just one of many facts that casts a large shadow on the credibility and motivation of the Democrats.
Furthermore, it is important to note that the Senate Judiciary Committee had more investigative authority than the FBI. In this matter, the FBI only had license to interview potential witnesses. If the Democrats wanted an in-depth investigation, they had the power to carry it out themselves.
With over 500,000 pages of documentation relating to the Senate hearing and extensive testimony under penalty of perjury, it was unlikely that the FBI’s authority to interview witnesses would yield any new information. Democrats knew that the FBI probe would be unsuccessful in discovering corroborative evidence. This was never the goal of the FBI probe—it was merely a stall tactic. In addition, all of the witnesses that Ford identified were unable to corroborate her claims against Kavanaugh.
Although treated like one, this was not a trial; however, the system of due process and innocence until proven guilty must apply in all aspects of public life. If we throw innocence until proven guilty out the window, we neglect many years of bloody history that instigated this system of governance.
What does this say about the future of our democracy if so many are willing to derail a person’s life over unsubstantiated and uncorroborated evidence? We should all be afraid to live in a country where one must prove their innocence after being accused of a crime.
In fact, our Constitution echoes the tenets of our nation’s founders to presume innocence unless guilt is legally proven. We believe Senator Susan Collins of Maine put it best when she explained, “We must always remember that it is when passions are most inflamed that fairness is most in jeopardy. The presumption of innocence is relevant to the advice and consent function when an accusation departs from a nominee’s otherwise exemplary record.”
In conclusion, Kavanaugh will be writing majority and dissenting opinions on the Supreme Court for many years to come. Throughout this time, we believe his tenure will be de-legitimized based on an allegation that was investigated and determined to have no substantive evidence. Instead, his legacy ought to derive from his judicial philosophy and exemplary qualifications. To those who attempt to undermine our nation’s judicial system, we want to leave you with a quote from Senator Lindsey Graham 2.0, “Boy, Y’all want power. God, I hope you never get it!”
By: Will Macfarlane, Dean Davidson, Jacob Storment
All of them are senior double majors in accounting and finance.
Grace Gaines