Judges, particularly those on the Supreme Court, are expected to sit above the partisan fray. But Brett Kavanaugh, whom President Donald Trump nominated to succeed Justice Anthony Kennedy on Monday night, is much like the man who selected him — highly divisive in his decisions and rhetoric. According to a deep, data-driven survey of his writings from the bench, he is an uncommonly partisan judge, even compared with other federal appeals court judges.
On the circuit court, Kavanaugh tended to dissent more often along partisan lines than his peers, according to our research. He justified his decisions with conservative doctrines far more than his colleagues, citing politicized precedents consistent with other Republican-appointed judges, invoking the original Articles of the Constitution (consistent with the originalist jurisprudence favored by conservative jurists) and using the language of economics and free markets. What’s more, Kavanaugh’s divisiveness ramped up during campaign season: He disagreed with his colleagues more often before elections, suggesting that he feels personally invested in national politics.
