I Sympathize With Brett Kavanaugh

Yeah, I said it. Others here have made it clear that they oppose his confirmation to the Supreme Court. So I will be the underdog. I believe everything that I write here and it is not just an attempt to make Judge Kavanaugh’s coverage fair and balanced.

I never met Judge Kavanaugh nor have I read any of his opinions. All I knew about him before his nomination is that he is a top SCOTUS feeder judge and was on President Donald Trump’s short list for potential SCOTUS nominees.

I read about his younger years from various sources. It was difficult to find an objective biography as many writers have in essence compared him to Johnny from The Karate Kid, Stan Gable from Revenge of the Nerds, half the cast of Porky’s, or that douche Clark from the bar scene in Good Will Hunting.

Assuming he was not the out-of-control kegger the media portrays him to be, I doubt Judge Kavanaugh and I would have been friends anyway. We probably have different interests and would have hung out with different crowds. He enjoys beer while I seldom drink. He was the athlete while I was not.

Given our backgrounds, I think there would be very little chance that we will be in a position to work together professionally. He went to elite schools, presumably did very well there, and met the right people. Because of this, he was given opportunities that people like myself can only dream about. As a law student, my chances at a clerkship at his chambers would be impossible.

At best, I might argue a case before him in court. Or we may run into each other at a legal conference and briefly exchange a few pleasantries. Afterwards, we will go back to our own, very different lives.

With that said, I have no personal interest in seeing Judge Kavanaugh confirmed and my life will go on whether he is confirmed or not. However, what started as a contentious SCOTUS nominee hearing in early September metastasized into shouting matches about privilege and entitlement when Dr. Christine Blasey Ford made some serious accusations about Judge Kavanaugh.

Many people claim that Judge Kavanaugh should have treated the committee hearing like a job interview. His defiant behavior and responses to the committee on September 27th shows that he lacks the temperament to be an impartial judge.

These people are quick to forget that the “job interview” took place at the initial confirmation hearing on September 4th. And even then the Democratic senators grilled him on many things, including his potential involvement in the Mueller investigation and the secret emails about his thoughts on racial profiling. Judge Kavanaugh did a pretty good job of remaining professional.

But we saw an angrier side of Judge Kavanaugh on September 27th. If he displayed a lack of temperament that day, keep in mind that this was no longer a job interview. It was an interrogation and he had to defend himself. Dr. Ford accused Judge Kavanaugh of doing some very despicable things over 30 years ago at a party when they were both in high school. The judge had to make his denial forcefully clear before a group of senators who have already made up their minds.

But we all know that no matter how Judge Kavanaugh conducted himself before the committee that day, his critics will say anything to make him look unfit. If he cooperated, he will be accused of looking guilty. Republicans may also think he is weak. If he tried to lighten the mood by answering questions with a dry joke here and there, he would be accused of not taking the hearing seriously and rightfully so. If he just said nothing or acted evasive, then he would be accused of trying to hide things which may force the committee to conduct its own investigation and delay the vote. The amusing thing is that some friends I know who are against Kavanaugh were more lenient towards Dr. Ford. They advocated that she should not testify if she does not want to or even walk out altogether.

Finally, I’m not going to discuss whether Judge Kavanaugh or Dr. Ford appeared more credible before the Senate Judiciary Committee. This is because the September 27^th hearing is ultimately an irrelevant distraction as the committee already made their decision one way or another. The timing of the accusation is suspect because if there is undisputable evidence that Dr. Ford was right, this would have come to light a long time ago.

What concerns me most about last week’s hearing is the potential fallout. I can think of three things.

First, alcoholism will continue to be a stigma. As we all know, alcohol addiction is a serious problem in the legal profession and those who struggle with alcoholism are encouraged to seek professional help. And if a colleague was brave enough to share their dark secret, then we are encouraged to show empathy and be there for them while they recover. Judge Kavanaugh was made fun of for being unable to hold his liquor and holding his liquor more often than he should. While I get that most of us will not get the same level of hostile scrutiny as a SCOTUS nominee, lawyers are still very protective of their reputation. After this hearing and the resulting “Kavanaugh walks into a bar” jokes from every talk show host, lawyers will be more inclined to keep their problems to themselves.

Second, employers will think that what someone did as a minor no matter how long ago is now fair game when deciding whether that person is qualified for a job. In most states, juvenile criminal records are sealed or destroyed once they turn 18. The reason for this is because people should be allowed to have a fresh start once they become adults. This can lead to employers doing more intrusive background checks and not hiring people based on very old evidence.

Third, employers might treat job applicants very differently. If they see any red flags on an application, they will presume guilt about the applicant until proven innocent. Also, employers might feel better about accepting the word of accusers based on their words alone with no outside evidence.

For now, until his eventual up or down vote in the near future, Judge Kavanaugh will have to endure more media scrutiny and more accusations. Democrats are making it clear that they will not accept anything less than Sir Galahad as a judicial nominee from President Trump. And even then, they will even criticize Sir Galahad’s purity as being morally elitist.

Look, I can respect the Democrats’ attempt to foil President Thanos’s goal of securing at least five of the Supreme Court’s Infinity Seats. But the way they are doing it is less than superheroic and they probably have no other options.

All of this grandstanding might bring out some unlikely Kavanaugh supporters who are sympathetic to what has happened to him, his family, and his reputation. According to a CBS News Poll, independents are split on Kavanaugh’s nomination, with 37 percent in favor of it and 32 percent opposed. If independent and moderate voters will see this as an unjustified delay tactic, this will not only hurt Democrats now, but it may also hurt them in November and beyond.

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Shannon Achimalbe was a former solo practitioner for five years before deciding to sell out and get back on the corporate ladder. Shannon can be reached by email at [email protected] and via Twitter: @ShanonAchimalbe.