Judicial Opinions of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised July 23, 2018 |
| Report Number |
R45269 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Michael John Garcia, Coordinator |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
On July 9, 2018, President Trump announced the nomination of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh of the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) to succeed Supreme
Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who is scheduled to retire from active status on July 31,
2018. Judge Kavanaugh has served as a judge on the D.C. Circuit since May 30, 2006. He has
also sat, by designation, on judicial panels of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and also served on three-judge panels of the U.S.
District Court for the District of Columbia.
During his tenure on the bench, Judge Kavanaugh has adjudicated more than 1,500 cases, almost
all while a member of either a three-judge or en banc panel of the D.C. Circuit. In part because of
the D.C. Circuit’s location in the nation’s capital and the number of statutes providing it with
special or even exclusive jurisdiction to review certain agency actions, legal commentators
generally agree that the D.C. Circuit’s docket, relative to the dockets of other circuits, contains a
greater percentage of nationally significant legal matters. Cases adjudicated by the D.C. Circuit
are more likely to concern the review of federal agency action or civil suits involving the federal
government than cases adjudicated in other circuits, while the D.C. Circuit docket has a lower
percentage of cases involving criminal matters, prisoner petitions, or civil suits between private
parties.
Arguably, Judge Kavanaugh’s authored opinions provide the greatest insight into the nominee’s
judicial approach, as a judge’s vote or decision to join an opinion authored by a colleague may
not necessarily represent full agreement with a colleague’s views. This report provides a tabular
listing of 306 cases in which Judge Kavanaugh authored a majority, concurring, or dissenting
opinion. The opinions are categorized into three tables: Table 1 identifies 148 opinions authored
by Judge Kavanaugh on behalf of a unanimous panel; Table 2 contains 47 controlling opinions
authored by Judge Kavanaugh in which one or more panelists wrote a separate opinion; and
Table 3 lists 111 cases where Judge Kavanaugh wrote a concurring or dissenting opinion
(decisions where Judge Kavanaugh wrote both the controlling opinion and a separate concurrence
are included in this final table). Opinions are identified and briefly discussed in each table in
reverse chronological order based on where the case appears in the Federal Reporter. The
opinions are also categorized by their primary legal subjects (e.g., administrative law, criminal
law & procedure, environmental law, federal courts & civil procedure, labor & employment law,
and national security).
While this report identifies and briefly describes judicial opinions authored by Judge Kavanaugh
during his time on the federal court, it does not analyze the implications of his judicial opinions or
suggest how he might approach legal issues if appointed to the Supreme Court. Those matters
will be discussed in a forthcoming CRS report. Key CRS products related to the Supreme Court
vacancy and Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination are collected in CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10160,
Supreme Court Nomination: CRS Products, by Andrew Nolan.
