The federal judicial panel tasked with reviewing ethics complaints filed against Justice Brett Kavanaugh has dismissed the complaints, saying that the relevant federal law does not cover Supreme Court justices.
The Judicial Council of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 10-page order Tuesday the complaints were “no longer appropriate for consideration under the” Judicial Conduct and Disability Act.
“Because Justice Kavanaugh is no longer a circuit, district, bankruptcy, or magistrate judge, a circuit judicial council no longer has the power or jurisdiction under the Act to review his conduct,” Judge Timothy Tymkovich, chief judge of the 10th Circuit, wrote in the order. “The allegations contained in the complaints are serious, but the Judicial Council is obligated to adhere to the Act.”
Chief Justice John Roberts tasked the 10th Circuit’s Judicial Council in October with reviewing the 83 complaints lodged against Kavanaugh with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and the 10th Circuit.
Tymkovich, nominated by President George W. Bush, said most of the complaints allege Kavanaugh lied under oath during his confirmation hearings to the D.C. Circuit in 2004 and 2006, as well as in his confirmation hearing to the Supreme Court in September.
Kavanaugh served on the D.C. Circuit for 12 years before he was nominated to the high court.
Specifically, the complaints claim he provided false testimony about his involvement in different events or programs during his tenure working in the White House for President George W. Bush and lied about his conduct and recollection of events before becoming a federal judge.
They also allege he “made inappropriate partisan statements that demonstrate bias and a lack of judicial temperament; and treated members of the Senate Judiciary Committee with disrespect.”
The complaints were released by the 10th Circuit, but contain redactions of the complainants’ personal information.
The Judicial Conduct and Disability Act lays out the procedures for handling complaints of misconduct. The law defines “judge” as a federal circuit judge, district judge, bankruptcy judge, or magistrate judge.
President Trump nominated Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy in July.
His confirmation battle was one of the most contentious and partisan and was roiled by allegations of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh by three women.
Kavanaugh and one of the women, Christine Blasey Ford, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in late September, during which the two were separately questioned about Ford’s allegation that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her during a small gathering in Maryland in 1982.
Kavanaugh forcefully defended himself against the allegations during the hearing and unequivocally denied the accusations.
He was confirmed by the Senate 50-48 at the beginning of October.
