Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Wednesday night defended Associate Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch as “very decent” and “very smart” individuals after one of her former law clerks suggested that new nominees lack personal decency.
Ginsburg’s comments turned heads on social media, given the contentious and bitterly personal confirmation hearings last year that Kavanaugh said “destroyed” his family.
At an hourlong question-and-answer session, Duke Law professor Neil Siegel lamented that “nominees for the Supreme Court are not chosen primarily anymore for independence, legal ability, personal decency, and I wonder if that’s a loss for all of us.”
Ginsburg shot back, “My two newest colleagues are very decent, very smart individuals.” The exchange was first reported by The National Review.
It wasn’t the first time that the court’s liberal lion defended Kavanaugh. Earlier this month, at a series of events, Ginsburg, 86, praised him for being the first justice to hire an all-female team of law clerks. – READ MORE