Brett Kavanaugh Pushes Back Against Criticism Of 1 Controversial Supreme Court Practice

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Thursday pushed back against criticism over the high court’s limited explanation for decisions made on an emergency basis, many of which have served President Donald Trump’s agenda of overhauling the federal government.

In an appearance in Kansas City, Missouri, before the judicial conference of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, reported by multiple news outlets, Kavanaugh seemed to distance himself from comments made by his liberal colleague Elena Kagan last week when she said the court should exercise more caution when deciding cases on emergency appeal.

“Courts are supposed to explain things,” Kagan said. “I think as we have done more and more on this emergency docket, there becomes a real responsibility that I think we didn’t recognize when we first started down this road, to explain things better.”

But Kavanaugh offered a differing view.

“There can be a risk, in writing the opinion, of a lock-in effect, of making a snap judgment and putting it in writing, in a written opinion that’s not going to reflect the final view,” he said.

As those cases were emergency appeals, the court offered little to no explanation behind its decisions. Cases on the so-called shadow docket are “handled on an expedited basis with limited briefing and typically no oral argument, and the court often resolves them in unsigned orders with little or no explanation,” according to SCOTUSblog.

Meanwhile, Kavanaugh said he is not oblivious to the “ocean of criticism and critiques out there” about the court.

“I definitely pay attention to it. I think you have to. We’re public officials who serve the American people. It’s not an academic exercise,” the conservative justice said. “It’s important for maintaining public confidence in the judiciary and the Supreme Court to know how the opinions are being conveyed and received and understood by the American people.”

While Kavanaugh recognized the pressure federal judges across the country face, the Trump-nominated justice made no reference to the president’s own relentless attacks on those who rule against his administration.

“I just want all the judges in the room to know how much I appreciate what they do,” Kavanaugh said. “It’s a lot to deal with all the things that are coming at you.”