What Kind of Judge is Brett Kavanaugh?

Authors

Elliott Ash, ETH Zürich
Daniel L. Chen, Toulouse School of Economics

Volume

2018

First Page

70

Last Page

100

Publication Date

2018

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This article reports the results of a series of data analyses of how recent Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh compares to other potential Supreme Court nominees and current Supreme Court Justices in his judging style. The analyses reveal a number of ways in which Judge Kavanaugh differs systematically from his colleagues. First, Kavanaugh dissents and is dissented against along partisan lines. More than other Judges and Justices, Kavanaugh dissents at a higher rate during the lead-up to elections, suggesting that he feels personally invested in national politics. Far more often than his colleagues, he justifies his decisions with conservative doctrines, including politicized precedents that tend to be favored by Republican-appointed judges, the original Articles of the Constitution, and the language of economics and free markets. These findings demonstrate the usefulness of quantitative analysis in the evaluation of judicial nominees.

Keywords

Statutory Interpretation, Courts, Reproduction and the Law, Birth and Reproduction, Supreme Court of the United States, Criminal Law and Procedure

Recommended Citation

Elliott Ash & Daniel L. Chen, What Kind of Judge is Brett Kavanaugh?, 2018 Cardozo L. Rev. De-Novo 70 (2018).
Available at: https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/de-novo/60