{
  "id": "R45269",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R45269",
  "active": true,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 584315,
      "date": "2018-07-23",
      "retrieved": "2018-08-29T15:13:28.432434",
      "title": "Judicial Opinions of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh",
      "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.\nDuring 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\u2019s location in the nation\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.\nArguably, Judge Kavanaugh\u2019s authored opinions provide the greatest insight into the nominee\u2019s judicial approach, as a judge\u2019s vote or decision to join an opinion authored by a colleague may not necessarily represent full agreement with a colleague\u2019s 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).\nWhile 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\u2019s nomination are collected in CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10160, Supreme Court Nomination: CRS Products, by Andrew Nolan.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
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  "topics": [
    "American Law",
    "Domestic Social Policy",
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}