A Compendium on the Kavanaugh Nomination

I am compiling this ongoing compendium of materials on the Kavanaugh nomination in order to give the interested reader guided access to selected items that I consider worth reading. I have not attempted to be exhaustive, nor does my inclusion of an item mean that I necessarily agree with it. — Ed Whelan 

Role of a judge 

• Judge Kavanaugh delivered a speech at the Catholic University of America titled “Judge as Umpire: Ten Principles.” A summary of that speech is available here.  
• Judge Kavanaugh spoke on the judge’s role in preserving the separation of powers between the three branches [Video Only]. 

• Judge Kavanaugh reflected on Justice Antonin Scalia.  
• Judge Kavanaugh reflected on Chief Justice William Rehnquist. 
• Judge Kavanaugh participated in a panel on the role that history should play in judicial interpretation at George Washington. 
• Judge Kavanaugh spoke on statutory interpretation and the Chevron doctrine at the Heritage Foundation 
• Judge Kavanaugh participated in a panel on federal courts at Harvard 

• Judge Kavanaugh spoke on the enduring significance of the text of the Constitution at Notre Dame 

Separation of powers 

• Judge Kavanaugh spoke on the judge’s role in preserving the separation of powers among the three branches at AEI [Video Only]. 
• Christopher Walker reviews Judge Kavanaugh on administrative law and the separation of powers 

• Judge Kavanaugh discussed separation of powers controversies during the George W. Bush and Barack Obama presidencies at Marquette [Video Only]. 
• Judge Kavanaugh proposed some ideas to improve the health of America’s political institutions. 
• Carrie Severino on two of Judge Kavanaugh’s major separation-of-powers opinions 
• Peter Wallison in WSJ on how Judge Kavanaugh may restore separation of powers

 Federalism 

• Elaine Povich and Alayna Alvarez assess Judge Kavanaugh’s rulings to predict his views on federalism and state rights. 

 Congressional powers 

• Judge Kavanaugh reviewed Judge Barron’s book on legislative-executive debates in wartime. 

 Presidential powers  

• Carrie Severino presents Judge Kavanaugh’s views on U.S. v. Nixon. 
• Ben Wittes explains how Judge Kavanaugh’s rulings won’t affect the Mueller investigations. 
• Ed Whelan debunks Senate Democrats’ distortions about Judge Kavanaugh’s view of subpoenas and special investigations  

• Judge Kavanaugh reviewed Judge Barron’s book on legislative-executive debates in wartime. 
• Harvard law professor Noah Feldman rejects Senate Democrats’ claims about Judge Kavanaugh’s supposed position on indicting a president 

 Religious Liberty  

• Hiram Sasser praises Judge Kavanaugh’s record on religious liberty cases and his prior pro bono work on behalf of religious organizations.  

• Ed Whelan looks into Judge Kavanaugh’s religious-liberty jurisprudence. 
• Kelly Shackelford, the CEO of First Liberty Institute, calls Judge Kavanaugh a strict adherent to the Constitution and a defender of religious liberties  

 Free Speech  

• Ken White reviews Judge Kavanaugh’s free speech decisions on the DC Circuit.  

• Institute for Free Speech posts a four-part series exploring Judge Kavanaugh’s jurisprudence in the sphere.  
• Brian Miller notes how Judge Kavanaugh is impartial in his support of free speech. 

 Second Amendment  

• Amy Swearer and Scott French at Heritage explain how Judge Kavanaugh’s Heller II opinion faithfully applied binding precedent. 

• SCOTUSblog’s assessment of Judge Kavanaugh’s record on the Second Amendment 
• Ed Whelan on Judge Kavanaugh’s record on the Second Amendment  

 Fourth Amendment 

• Orin Kerr provides tentative analysis of Judge Kavanaugh’s views of the Fourth Amendment 

• Ed Whelan corrects mischaracterizations of two of Judge Kavanaugh’s Fourth Amendment decisions 

 Administrative law 

• Eugene Scalia on why Judge Kavanaugh should appeal to to both Democrats and Republicans when it comes to administrative law. 
• Jonathan Adler writes in NYT that Judge Kavanaugh will keep administrative agencies within the limits of law and delegated authority. Adler also writes a more substantive post for Reason.  

• Jeff Pojanowski explicates Judge Kavanaugh’s interpretation of the major questions doctrine  
• Christopher Walker interprets Judge Kavanaugh’s stance towards independent agencies  
• Christopher Walker reviewed Judge Kavanaugh on administrative law and the separation of powers 
• Jonathan Wood proclaims that Judge Kavanaugh may help reverse Chevron  
• Aaron Nielsen compiled a list of all of Judge Kavanaugh’s concurrences and dissents at Notice & Comment blog  
• Michael McConnell explains how Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation may curtail Chevron’s footprint.

 Campaign finance  

• The Institute for Free Speech analyzed Judge Kavanaugh’s rulings in five campaign finance cases  

 Environmental law 

• Jonathan Adler in NRO pointing out selective reporting on Judge Kavanaugh’s environmental record 

 Immigration 

• Ed Whelan briefly surveys Judge Kavanaugh’s record in immigration cases 

 Voting rights  

• Hans von Spakovsky explains that Judge Kavanaugh holds a mainstream position on voting rights 

 Other Legal Areas 

• Dan McLaughlin at NRO on Judge Kavanaugh on expert testimony on “battered woman syndrome  

• Ed Whelan corrects misconceptions about Judge Kavanaugh’s vote in a routine case involving Trump Casino 

 The Confirmation Process 

• Ed Whelan on Senator Schumer’s demand for documents from Judge Kavanaugh’s time in the White House Counsel’s Office 
• Ed Whelan responds to John Podesta and Todd Stern on Senator Schumer’s demand for documents from Judge Kavanaugh’s time in the White House Counsel’s Office 

• More from Ed Whelan on Senator Schumer’s demand for documents from Judge Kavanaugh’s time in the White House Counsel’s Office 
• Thomas Jipping responds to Senator Durbin’s innuendos regarding Judge Kavanaugh’s D.C. Circuit confirmation hearings 
• Carrie Severino also outlines how Democrats are trotting out baseless attacks alleging that Judge Kavanaugh helped shape the Bush administration’s interrogation policies.
• David French discredits a flawed New York Times piece that distorts Judge Kavanauagh’s role in the failed nomination of District Judge Charles Pickering to the Fifth Circuit.

 Endorsements from Legal Figures

• Yale law professor Akhil Amar on a liberal’s case for Judge Kavanaugh 

• Yale law professor Amy Chua on Judge Kavanaugh as an extraordinary mentor to women 
• Supreme Court advocate, and self-described “liberal Democrat and feminist,” Lisa Blatt on why Democrats should support Judge Kavanaugh 
• Yale Law School students, faculty, and alumni in support of Judge Kavanaugh 
• Former Harvard Law School students of Kavanaugh write in support 
• Hoover Institution scholar Adam White on Judge Kavanaugh’s influence on the Supreme Court 

• Former Justice Kennedy clerks in support of Judge Kavanaugh  
• Harvard law professor Jack Goldsmith in support of Judge Kavanaugh 
• The Cato Institute’s Ilya Shapiro on the libertarian case for Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation 
• Georgetown law professor Randy Barnett concurs with Ilya Shapiro’s libertarian case for Judge Kavanaugh 
• 41 leading Supreme Court advocates signed a letter voicing their support for Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination, citing his many years on the DC Circuit and “character, temperament, and intellect.”