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Live blog of nomination | July 9, 2018 (with First Mondays)

We live-blogged with First Mondays as President Donald Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court.

3rd & 7 37yd

Great SCOTUSblog coverage of the potential nominees (Amy and Edith) - thanks a lot!

by andrew 7/10/2018 12:35:40 AM
Does Merrick Garland’s failure to receive a confirmation vote qualify as a constitutional crisis? It’s really difficult for me to imagine how the founding fathers would have allowed such a miscarriage of justice for such a qualified potential Justice.

by Eli Alman 7/10/2018 12:36:55 AM
From a liberal's perspective, Kennedy was a huge disappointment: Citizens United, McCutcheon, Shelby County, Heller, Twombly, Iqbal, Frederichs/Janus, Epic, Bush v. Gore... Yes, he was good on gay rights and on scaling back the applicability of the death penalty and life-without-parole sentences, but precious little else. Can this new nominee be any worse?

by Erik 7/10/2018 12:37:17 AM
Assuming it's Kavanaugh, would it be accurate to view Amy Barrett as the next "better" on deck?

by Miami John 7/10/2018 12:38:16 AM
Anybody else here going to be thrilled with any of these potential picks orrr is that just me?

by Sam Z 7/10/2018 12:39:16 AM
Kavanaugh would likely have to be recused from some very important cases: To wit, constitutional challenges to the CFPB, Hagan v. Garza, the Clean Power Plan repeal. I wonder if that is a big factor.

by JRC 7/10/2018 12:39:47 AM
Has anyone else seen the "advertisement" the White House has uploaded to Facebook?

by Just Wondering 7/10/2018 12:40:53 AM
We can expand that more. 6 of 9 justices were nominated by Presidents who didn’t earn 50% of the popular vote.

by Greg 7/10/2018 12:42:16 AM
I am extremely nervous about this since Masterpiece seemed to be a last ditched effort keep the peace when it came to balancing religious liberty and anti-discrimination laws. but with the new justice I'm deeply concerned that absent a federal ENDA Law I won't be protected

by Matthew 7/10/2018 12:43:06 AM
Hello, everyone! Only 18 minutes until the news conference? ceremony? announcement? starts. I'm not really sure what to call it.

by Amy Howe 7/10/2018 12:43:55 AM
By the way, if you haven't already, be sure to check out Art Lien's amazing banner on the blog right now.

by Amy Howe 7/10/2018 12:44:13 AM
Were SCOTUS nominees announced in prime time before the Age of Trump?

by cwgivens21 7/10/2018 12:45:49 AM
Has anyone seen the cases that are queued up argument for OT2018 in which Kavanaugh et al were on the panel?

by DCWatch 7/10/2018 12:46:18 AM
yeah, I feel like this is the Bachelorette SCOTUS edition.....

by Matthew 7/10/2018 12:47:13 AM
Whoever the nominee is they will undoubtedly be more conservative than Kennedy, my vote was worth it, despite all this President's shortcomings my vote for him was worth it and who knows what else the future holds for the Court during his term(s?)

by Jerrett 7/10/2018 12:47:19 AM
Can I voice my displeasure with the "4/9 Justices will have been appointed by Presidents who lost the popular vote" statistic? Both of Bush's successful nominees were chosen in his second term (2005 and 2006), after he quite definitely won the popular vote in the 2004 election. Trump is the first popular vote loser to make an appointment to the Court since Benjamin Harrison. The real number is only going to be 2/9 if Trump can make a second successful nomination.

by Vosmyorka 7/10/2018 12:48:04 AM
So Leah, would a challenge to the Clean Power Plan repeal be a new case for recusal purposes? I suppose it would.

by JRC 7/10/2018 12:48:11 AM
Are theories of constitutional interpretation, like "originalism" and "pragmatism," ideas or terms that seasoned lawyers and jurists take seriously and use? Do they use those labels for themselves? Or are these more like popular culture / political terms?

by Miami John 7/10/2018 12:48:54 AM
Surprise, the pick is Obama.

by JM 7/10/2018 12:50:12 AM
Where do you think Kavanaugh will ultimately fall on the Court's composition if confirmed? To the right of Roberts? To the right of Alito?

by JSB 7/10/2018 12:51:13 AM
Who is the last person to turn down a SCOTUS nomination?

by cwgivens21 7/10/2018 12:51:56 AM
Pete Williams is reporting on TV right now that it is Kavanaugh, FWIW.

by Amy Howe 7/10/2018 12:52:51 AM
Kavanaugh dissented in Lorenzo v. SEC (17-1077).

by EEB 7/10/2018 12:53:06 AM
For any new readers, here's our profile again on Kavanaugh (by Edith Roberts):

Potential nominee profile: Brett Kavanaugh - SCOTUSblog
SCOTUSblogWhen then-candidate Donald Trump released his first two lists of potential Supreme Court nominees in May and September of 2016, the omission of Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit drew comment. Kavanaugh had served for 10 years on a bench known as

by Andrew Hamm 7/10/2018 12:53:46 AM
If Kavanaugh is in - was there ever a situation with two justices that clerked for the same justice at the same term (if I’m not wrong)?

by ZS 7/10/2018 12:53:47 AM
John Roberts of Fox News just said he and Shannon Bream were given strong
indication that it BK

by Joe Rigney 7/10/2018 12:55:22 AM
Will BK be an avid questioner at oral argument? What's his writing style like?

by Just Wondering 7/10/2018 12:56:06 AM
Well, that's exactly why my tidbit includes the qualification "for their first term in office." We can disagree over the advantage an incumbent might have in a subsequent election, though, and I'm sorry my statistic displeased people.

by Luke 7/10/2018 12:56:43 AM
Do you think that future presidential candidates will publish lists like the one Trump has selected his first two picks from?

by KPOM 7/10/2018 12:57:07 AM
The million documents we'll be seeking in Kavanaugh FOIA lawsuits will make the 175,000 we got in the Gorsuch FOIA lawsuit seem small by comparison. Can't wait.

by Gabe Roth 7/10/2018 12:58:02 AM
Recall that CJ John Roberts was with John Calipari before a UK basketball game when Gorsuch was announced

by cwgivens21 7/10/2018 12:58:13 AM
KPOM, some will and some won't. Trump needed to for a very particular reason that may not come up for other Presidential nominees.

by PTC 7/10/2018 12:59:03 AM
Kavanaugh seems like the most probable choice to me based only on the facts that this President both cannot get out of his own way and loves drama. Kavanaugh's confirmation process will be much more complicated given his past political experience.

by I really don't care. Do u? 7/10/2018 12:59:33 AM
Don McGahn's got a pretty good seat at the press conference. Nice day for him, as BK had been his choice from the start.

by Ian Samuel 7/10/2018 1:00:09 AM
One minute to go . . . .

by Amy Howe 7/10/2018 1:00:23 AM
What is kavanaugh’s political experience people are concerned about?

by Brian 7/10/2018 1:00:39 AM
Here comes Melania Trump, and everyone just stood up, which suggests Trump is on his way.

by Amy Howe 7/10/2018 1:01:10 AM
Never mind. Everyone just sat down. Maybe they stood up for Melania Trump.

by Amy Howe 7/10/2018 1:01:53 AM
How many on the LiveBlog right now?

by dystopianhero 7/10/2018 1:01:59 AM
I wouldn’t want to be anywhere but here with you all....

by Kim 7/10/2018 1:02:02 AM
Everyone just stood up again and is clapping. It is Trump, no sign of nominee yet.

by Amy Howe 7/10/2018 1:02:24 AM
Kavanaugh's parents spotted in the room . . .

by I really don't care. Do u? 7/10/2018 1:02:33 AM
Trump entering and about to, in the words of the Bachelorette, do the dang thing.

by Ian Samuel 7/10/2018 1:02:36 AM
Says this is one of his most profound responsibilities.

by Amy Howe 7/10/2018 1:02:56 AM
Praising Anthony Kennedy.

by Amy Howe 7/10/2018 1:03:39 AM

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