Kavanaugh Nod May Reverse US Court Law Per SJ Poly Sci Professor

SAN JOSE, CA -- Following a stunning U.S. Senate committee vote on advancing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, political stakeholders in his sexual assault accuser’s home state are holding their breath as critical legal decisions hang in the balance.

"Like so many others, I fear for the Supreme Court's loss of legitimacy," San Jose State University political science professor James Brent told Patch in referring to the historic events leading up to the vote on the nomination on the U.S. Senate floor.

Brent lectures in the Silicon Valley, near where accuser and fellow professor Christine Blasey Ford works, and was quick Friday to point out that if Kavanaugh is confirmed in a week, the rule of law — from Roe vs Wade to gay rights — may be up for grabs.

The latter may be more complicated though as thousands of gay couples have married, and nullifying them may amount to a huge “quagmire.” Brent predicted the high court would more likely chip away at these rights through specific decisions like businesses refusing to serve gays out of religious conviction. Think cake baker case.

“Almost all the major constitutional issues are up for grabs,” Brent said. “If he makes it, affirmative action will probably be the first to go.”

Brent found the timing and similarity to Clarence Thomas’ nomination on the Supreme Court almost 30 years ago uncanny.

On Sept. 19, the professor of judicial politics had just conducted a lecture on that time in which Anita Hill testified before Congress in accusing Thomas of sexual harassment.

“What I continue to be struck by is the parallel of this hearing with the Clarence Thomas hearing,” Brent said. “This is extremely interesting.”

Now, the court in its justices’ leanings is split in two like the nation. Kavanaugh is expected to move the panel far right.

But when the integrity of the Supreme Court is questionable, Brent believes that even conservative Justice John Roberts will want to maintain its “non-partisan” stance. This essentially means he may weigh in the scales of justice and stray from the political flavor of the day.

“It’s important for him that the court appears to be non-partisan,” Brent said. He showed that side when gay rights became federally protected.

The end-all decision in one week following an investigation of Kavanaugh and his multiple assault accusers by the Federal Bureau of Investigation may impact an even bigger event in U.S. politics – the mid-term elections in November.

Brent contends citizens vote more “in anger than complacency.” Moreover, the party in power tends to lose more seats historically.

“We’re more partisan now, and the political parties are more polarized. The Democrats were already energized. I think they could be more energized even more (by the latest Senate maneuvers),” he said.

The political science expert characterized the back-to-back hearings before a 21-person Senate committee as “amazing” and admitted it’s questionable whether anything said made a difference.

Did the senators already make up their minds before the astounding testimony from a sexual assault victim and the accused who stands to sit on a lifetime appointment for the most powerful seat in the land?

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said Friday she was disappointed in the outcome of advancing Kavanaugh’s nomination. She voted against moving it forward.

“The majority argued that the sexual assault Dr. Ford experienced was nothing more than a Democratic smear campaign that allegedly orchestrating,” she said. Feinstein handled the letter Ford wrote to Congress and addressed to Rep. Anna Eschoo, D-Calif., because she believed it was her “civic duty.”

“The entire country is watching now how we handle these serious allegations. It is in fact a real test for the United States Senate and for our country to see how we treat women, especially for women who are survivors of sexual assault,” Feinstein said, adding her belief “we can do better.”

There are many. Among them is Ford’s mayor Liz Kniss of Palo Alto.

--Images via San Jose State University and U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein's Washington D.C. office