Politics

Ethics complaints against Brett Kavanaugh have not been resolved yet

Key Points
  • A number of ethics complaints filed against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh have yet to be resolved and will be transferred to a new jurisdiction, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in a letter Wednesday.
  • In recent weeks members of the public had filed multiple judicial misconduct complaints against Kavanaugh with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
  • It is unclear what the new jurisdiction, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, will do with the complaints. Kavanaugh, as a Supreme Court justice, is not subject to the lower court's judicial misconduct procedures.
Brett Kavanaugh, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, smiles as President Donald Trump, not pictured, speaks during a ceremonial swearing-in event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Oct. 8, 2018.
Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images

A number of ethics complaints filed against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh have yet to be resolved and will be transferred to a new jurisdiction, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in a letter Wednesday.

The complaints, which concern public comments that Kavanaugh made during his confirmation process, will be reviewed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, according to the letter. The 10th Circuit has jurisdiction over several district courts in the western United States.

In recent weeks members of the public had filed multiple judicial misconduct complaints against Kavanaugh with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Kavanaugh was a member of that court until his elevation to the Supreme Court over the weekend.

The chief judge on the D.C. appeals court, Merrick Garland, whom President Barack Obama nominated to the Supreme Court in 2016, recused himself from reviewing those complaints. After his recusal, Karen Henderson, another judge on the D.C. appeals court, then passed them on to Roberts, The Washington Post reported earlier this month.

It is unclear what the 10th Circuit will do with the complaints. Kavanaugh, as a Supreme Court justice, is not subject to the lower court's judicial misconduct procedures.

The complaints concern Kavanaugh's answers to questions lawmakers posed about his work in the George W. Bush administration, the Post reported, citing people familiar. Some of the complaints, the paper said, involve partisan comments that Kavanaugh made about Democrats during the confirmation process.

The complaints do not relate to Christine Blasey Ford's accusation that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her decades ago. Kavanaugh has categorically denied the allegation.