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Justice Roberts sends judicial Kavanaugh complaints to appeals court

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., administers the Constitutional Oath to Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh at the Supreme Court. Photo: Fred Schilling/Supreme Court of the United States via Getty Images
Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., administers the constitutional oath to Judge Brett Kavanaugh last week at the Supreme Court. Photo: Fred Schilling/Supreme Court of the United States via Getty Images

Chief Justice John Roberts on Wednesday transferred more than a dozen judicial misconduct complaints related to the Supreme Court’s newest associate justice, Brett Kavanaugh, to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Colorado for further review.

The details: The 15 complaints are related to remarks Kavanugh made during his confirmation hearings last month. They were initially filed with  D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals where Kavanaugh served as a federal judge for 12 years before his confirmation to the high court last Saturday.

The backdrop: People familiar with the issue told the Washington Post that the allegations center on whether President Trump's Supreme Court pick was dishonest and lacked judicial temperament during his Senate testimony.

  • The Post notes that complaints made against judges are usually handled by the chief judge. A justice on the court asked Roberts last month to refer the complaints to another appeals court for review, saying that they should not be handled by Kavanaugh’s colleagues, reports the Post.

The outcome of the review is unclear. Arthur D. Hellman, a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh, told the publication that the 10th Circuit will likely toss the case “because it is no longer within their jurisdiction,” now that Kavanaugh’s nomination has been confirmed.

Brett Kavanaugh