Updated
US President Donald Trump has named conservative
federal appeals court Judge Brett Kavanaugh as his nominee to serve on
the US Supreme Court.
Mr Trump called it an "honour and privilege"
to nominate Judge Kavanaugh, who became a judge for the US Court of
Appeals in 2006, and said he had "impeccable credentials and unsurpassed
qualifications".Brett Kavanaugh's factbox
- Age: 53 (born February 12, 1965 in Washington, DC)
- Education: BA, Yale University 1987; JD, Yale Law School 1990
- Since 2006: Judge in US Court of Appeals for District of Columbia Circuit
- 2003-06: Staff secretary to president George W Bush
- 2001-03: White House counsel's office
- 1997-98, 1999-2001: Partner at Kirkland and Ellis law firm
- 1994-97: Associate counsel at Office of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr
- 1993-94: Law clerk, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy
- 1992-93: Office of Solicitor General
"In keeping with President Reagan's legacy, I do not ask about a nominee's personal opinions. What matters is not a judge's political views, but whether they can set aside those views to do what the law and the constitution require," Mr Trump said.
"I am pleased to say that I have found, without doubt, such a person."Judge Kavanaugh has impeccable credentials and a proven commitment to equal justice under the law — he is considered a judge's judge, a true thought leader among his peers.
"He is a brilliant jurist, with a clear and effective writing style, universally regarded as one of the finest and sharpest legal minds of our time."
The vacancy on the nation's highest court was caused by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy.
In picking the 53-year-old Kavanaugh, Mr Trump aimed to entrench conservative control of the court for years to come with his second lifetime appointment to the nation's highest judicial body in his first 18 months as President.
"I was lucky. My mum was a teacher in the 1960s and 1970s, she taught history at two largely African American public high schools in Washington DC, McKinlay Tech and HD Woodson," Judge Kavanaugh said.
"Her example told me the importance of equality for all Americans.
"My mum was a trailblazer. When I was 10, she went to law school and became a prosecutor.
"My introduction to law came at our dinner table when she practised her closing arguments.
"Her trademark line was 'use your common-sense. What rings true, what rings false?' That's good advice for a juror and for a son."
Judge Kavanaugh now faces what appears to be another fierce fight for confirmation in the Senate, where Mr Trump's fellow Republicans hold a slim majority. If confirmed, Judge Kavanaugh would replace long-serving conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced his retirement on June 27 at age 81.
Judge Kavanaugh has amassed a solidly conservative judicial record since 2006 on the influential US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the same court where three current justices including Chief Justice John Roberts previously served.
Some conservative activists have questioned whether he would rule sufficiently aggressively as a justice.
Judge Kavanaugh potentially could serve on the high court for decades. Mr Trump's other leading candidates for the post were fellow federal appellate judges Thomas Hardiman, Raymond Kethledge and Amy Coney Barrett.
He served as a senior White House official under Republican former president George W Bush before Mr Bush nominated him to the appeals court in 2003. Some Democrats accused him of excessive partisanship, and it took three years before the Senate eventually voted to confirm him.
Judge Kavanaugh worked for Kenneth Starr, the independent counsel whose investigation of former president Bill Clinton helped spur an effort by congressional Republicans in 1998 and 1999 to impeach the Democratic president and remove him from office.
In 2009, Judge Kavanaugh changed his tune on the Starr probe, arguing that presidents should be free from civil lawsuits, criminal prosecutions and investigations while in office.
ABC/Wires
No comments:
Post a Comment