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On Saturday, October 7, Brett Kavanaugh was officially sworn in as the 144th Supreme Court Justice by the Senate’s vote 50-48.
This day did not come easily. In the midst of his campaign for Supreme Court Justice, a sexual assault accusation came up from someone in his past. Doctor Christine Balasy Ford accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a party when they were in high school. He was accused by Julie Swetnick of abusive and aggressive behavior toward girls. Later, an anonymous letter was sent to a senator accusing him, once again, of that particular behavior.
Kavanaugh denied all of these allegations, under oath with statements such as, “The truth is I’ve never sexually assaulted anyone, in high school or otherwise. I am not questioning and have not questioned that perhaps Dr. Ford at some point in her life was sexually assaulted by someone at some place, but what I know is I’ve never sexually assaulted anyone.” He then released his planner from the summer of the party where the alleged sexual harassment occurred. The calendar did not account for the party that Ford was talking about.
After testifying against those allegations in the Supreme Court, the senate voted 50-48, and Kavanaugh was officially elected. The ceremony took place in the Supreme Court building where Kavanaugh took both of the oaths required to be sworn in. They decided to do the ceremony right away so Kavanaugh could start work immediately. Before the ceremony took place, and while it was going on, people protested outside.
Despite the protests, Kavanaugh still replaced Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. People have their opinions on the controversy even after he was sworn in. Lily Williams, a senior at Pleasant Valley, said, “I think the Kavanaugh confirmation affirms the political polarization of our nation. I believe he has proved to be the first outwardly partisan judge to join the court in decades.” Kavanaugh was sworn in early and in a private setting so that he could begin his work right away.
By UnknownUnknown author [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons (photo citation)
