Thousands of words, if not hundreds of thousands, have already been written about President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. Scholars will opine on his judicial philosophy and review his judicial opinions—more than 300 of them—for hints about how he might rule. His classmates, law professors, and colleagues will all be asked their thoughts and his law review articles will be scrutinized.
But the one way to truly know a judge is to watch him in action. I first met Judge Kavanaugh more than 20 years ago, when we both worked for Independent Counsel Ken Starr, but a more recent experience is more germane. I was appointed by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to represent a client who had lost his case while representing himself in federal district court, and then tried to filed an appeal.