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For Immediate Release
Contact:

Derrick Robinson, Lawyers’ Committee, DRobinson@LawyersCommittee.org, 202-662-8317

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Responds to Justice Brett Kavanaugh's First Day on the Supreme Court

Justice Brett Kavanaugh completes his first sitting for oral argument on the court

WASHINGTON

Today, Kristen Cake, president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, issued the following statement in response to Brett Kavanaugh's first day sitting for oral argument as a Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

"The question is not whether Justice Kavanaugh will move the Court in a more conservative and hostile direction on constitutional and civil rights, but instead how swiftly he will do so and how sweeping will the Court's rulings be. His confirmation was the closest in modern time and there are grave questions about his ability to hear cases with the degree of impartiality needed to instill confidence in the public in the Court's work. We should expect to see increasing calls for recusal from parties who fear that the bias and hostility that Justice Kavanaugh exhibited during his confirmation hearing may impair his ability to fairly and evenly resolve cases that come before him. Moreover, the wave of protesters at the Court who are there not because of any case or issue but because of his presence provides further indication that Justice Brett Kavanaugh will remain a polarizing and divisive force on the Court throughout his tenure."

The Lawyers' Committee is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to enlist the private bar's leadership and resources in combating racial discrimination and the resulting inequality of opportunity - work that continues to be vital today.

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