AUSTIN, Texas – Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh said Friday that the United States is telling history court decisions unpopular at the time may later become “part of American constitutional law.”
Kavanaugh spoke Friday at a conference of judges, attorneys and other judicial staff at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi and is one of the most conservative circuits.
In the question-and-answer session, he was not asked about any of the current court’s nationally divisive decisions, such as overturning the court. Roe v. Wade One that becomes federal abortion protections in 2022 is the main political issue in the elections across the country this year. He was part of the conservative majority in this decision.
However, he was asked how judges and courts can help improve public confidence in the judicial system.
In response, Kavanaugh said some of the high court’s decisions in the 1950s and ’60s involved monumental issues involving civil and criminal rights, free speech and school prayer, including the famous Brown v. Board of Education case that ended legal segregation in public schools. it was not popular when it was published.
“The Warren trial was no picnic for judges. … They were unpopular all the way from ’53 to ’69,” Kavanaugh said. “The court is playing itself by sticking to its principles. You know, look, many of these decisions (were unpopular) and many of them are hallmarks of what we now recognize as parts of the American constitution and the constitution of American constitutional law.
He said federal judges “stay out of politics as much as possible.”
“It’s a daily thing. I don’t think it’s “flip the switch”. It shows itself every day in the courtroom and tries to treat the parties with respect in a clear and understandable way.”
Kavanaugh asked about his personal security, which he said protects his family 24 hours a day, and about the protesters coming to his home. In 2022, a man was arrested at a courthouse in Maryland with a gun, a knife and a zipper.
Asked if the protesters were still coming, Kavanaugh said, “It depends on the day. … Not so much. I think I’ll leave it there.”
When Kavanaugh was confirmed in 2018, his daughters were in seventh and fifth grade and are now in middle school.
“They understood what that meant and they got in the car and picked on the security guard in the stands at basketball games. Hopefully, you know, you pray that it doesn’t have a long-term effect on them,” he said.