Constitutional Accountability Center Constitutional Accountability Center

Federal Courts and Nominations

Preserving the independence and fairness of our justice system
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Confirmation Hearing of Sonia Sotomayor | Office of Sen. Patrick Leahy

Summary

CAC reviews the records of federal judicial and executive nominees — and when appropriate, takes a position in support of, or in opposition to, Senate confirmation — and works to ensure that our justice system remains fair and independent.

View all nominees on which CAC has taken a position

Federal Courts and Nominations in Brief

Confirmation Hearings for John Roberts | U.S. Senate Historical Office

President Trump has levied unprecedented attacks on the judiciary and nominated ideological and unqualified judges for the federal courts. As a result, CAC’s work to ensure that the judiciary remains fair and independent is now more vital than ever.

Featured Case

Federal Courts and Nominations August 30, 2018

ISSUE BRIEF: Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh: Will He Respect The Whole Constitution?

In announcing Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, President Trump billed him as a jurist who will enforce the Constitution as written. Luminaries of the conservative legal movement have lined up to support him, claiming that he “would move the Court in the direction of textualism and originalism.” A review of his record—both his opinions and other writings—casts serious doubt on this claim. Judge Kavanaugh’s record suggests that he is a selective originalist, who unfortunately has turned a blind eye to the Constitution’s text, history, and values when construing the Constitution’s many broadly worded guarantees of equality and individual...