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Author: Jon Levitan

On Friday, August 3, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT in Chicago, the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section will host a review of criminal law cases from the most recent Supreme Court term. Panelists include Ann C. Williams, MiAngel C. Cody and Debra...

At 9:00 p.m. on July 9, President Donald Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court left by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy late last month. The nomination now goes to the Senate for confirmation, where majority leader Mitch McConnell has said he would like a vote to confirm Kavanaugh by the fall. This post will examine the key players in the Democratic minority. The 49-seat Democratic caucus will be unable to block Kavanaugh’s nomination on its own. Now that the filibuster has been eliminated for Supreme Court nominations, only a simple majority of senators is needed to confirm a Supreme Court nominee. Republicans currently hold 51 seats in the Senate, though Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is away from Washington while he receives treatment for brain cancer. If McCain is unable to vote, every Republican will have to vote for Kavanaugh to ensure confirmation without Democratic help. A contentious confirmation fight will be nothing new for Kavanaugh; his nomination to the D.C. Circuit stalled for three years amid heavy Democratic opposition before he was confirmed in 2006. When his vote eventually occurred, only four Democrats supported his nomination. Tom Carper of Delaware is the only one of those four still serving today, but he has indicated that he will vote against Kavanaugh’s confirmation this time.

[Editor’s Note: This post has been updated to include a link to Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s written questionnaire for the Senate Judiciary Committee and supporting documents.] We’ve collected extra-judicial writing, speeches and panel appearances of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. We may continue to update this post as we find additional materials. Articles and speech transcripts published in law reviews

"Defense Presence and Participation: A Procedural Minimum for Batson v. Kentucky Hearings," published in Volume 99 of the Yale Law Journal, 1989

"The President and the Independent Counsel," published in Volume 86 of the Georgetown Law Journal, 1997 "Separation of Powers During the Forty-Fourth Presidency and Beyond," published in Volume 93 of the Minnesota Law Review, 2008 "War, Terror, and the Federal Courts, Ten Years After 9/11," Published in Volume 61, Issue 5, of the American University Law Review, 2012 (subscription may be required) "A Dialogue with Federal Judges on the Role of History in Interpretation," transcript of a 2011 panel discussion published in Volume 80, Number 6, of the George Washington Law Review, 2012 Sumner Canary Memorial Lecture: "The Courts and the Administrative State," published in Valume 64, Issue 3, of the Case Western Reserve Law Review, 2014 "Our Anchor for 225 Years and Counting: The Enduring Significance of the Precise Text of the Constitution," Published in Volume 89, Issue 5, of the Notre Dame Law Review, 2014 "Fixing Statutory Interpretation," a book review of "Judging Statutes," by Robert Katzmann, published in Volume 129 of the Harvard Law Review, 2015 "The Judge as Umpire: Ten Principles," a transcript of a speech given as part of the Pope John XXIII Lecture Series at the Catholic University of America, published in Volume 65, Issue 3, of the Catholic University Law Review, 2016 Keynote Address for the Federal Courts, Practice & Procedure Symposium: Justice Scalia and the Federal Courts: "Two Challenges for the Judge as Umpire: Statutory Ambiguity and Constitutional Exceptions," published in Volume 92, Issue 5, of the Notre Dame Law Review, 2017

On July 24 at 1 p.m. EST, the National Association of Counties will host a webinar reviewing the past Supreme Court term. Speakers include Eric Citron, Shay Dvoretzky and Lydia Wheeler. To register for the webinar go here....

On July 19 at 1 p.m. EST, the International Municipal Lawyers Association will host a webinar on Supreme Court police cases from this past term. Speakers include Stuart Raphael, Timothy Coates and Michael Connolly. More information, including registration instructions, is available here....

On July 18 at 1 p.m. EST, the National Conference of State Legislatures will host a webinar entitled, "Partisanship and Redistricting: What the Supreme Court Has to Say." Speakers include Misha Tseytlin, Michael Kimberly and Paul Diller. To join the webinar, go here....