America is at a moment that demands a senator with the courage of a Margaret Chase Smith. As early as this week, Judge Brett Kavanaugh will be confirmed as a justice of our highest court unless a few Republicans vote against him. We are more than 160 Maine lawyers and law professors who urge Sen. Susan Collins to join this small, courageous number.
Our nation knows no greater bond than the rule of law. No institution is more critical to its safekeeping than the Supreme Court. Those who become justices are the ultimate guardians of our liberty. They must possess the highest attributes of honesty and impartiality, lest the legitimacy of our judicial system be in doubt. We believe Brett Kavanaugh is unfit to join the court, because of doubts about his temperament and character.
Speaking before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 27, Judge Kavanaugh was at once belligerent, disdainful, rude, evasive, partisan and risible in denying a troubling drinking habit. He lied to the committee, while also displaying a prejudice against progressives that could unfairly tip the balance in cases brought before the court.
The pending FBI investigation may or may not put our minds at ease about events occurring more than 30 years ago. But the results will not alter what we witnessed Sept. 27 – a nominee unfit to become a justice on the court.
Voting against confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh will take fortitude. But Sen. Collins’ overarching duty is not to him, to Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, to the president or to her party. We believe her duty is to protect the credibility of the Supreme Court as a fair and neutral arbiter of the country’s most important legal matters. For Sen. Collins to act consistently with this duty, we believe she must vote against this nominee.
Kristy M. Abraham
Stephanie Albert
Eben Albert
Ryan Almy
Kenneth P. Altshuler
Daniel Amory
Judith Andrucki
Justin Andrus
Jennifer Archer
Emily Atkins
Amber R. Attalla
S. Campbell Badger
Donna Bailey
Mark V. Balfantz
Elizabeth A. Boepple
Richard Berne
Susan Bixby
Lauri Boxer-Macomber
Patrick Brady
Lee Bragg
Rebecca Brochua
Rufus Brown
H. Lowell Brown
Ricky L. Brunette
Sonia Buck
Tommie Burke
E. James Burke
Anthony W. Buxton
Barbara Cardone
Margaret Clement
John D. Clifford IV
Bodie B. Colwell
Jack Conway
Janice Cooper
Chris Cotnoir
Andrew Cotter
Thomas A. Cox
Alicia Cushing
Mary Davis
Dawn Diblasi
Shawn Doil
Diane Dusini
Lori Dwyer
John Paul Erler
Rita Farry
Michael Feldman
Donald F. Fontaine
Joan Fortin
Adrianne E. Fouts
Maria Fox
Craig Francis
Elizabeth Frazier
Katherine C. Gibson
Sarah Gilbert
Jonathan L. Goldberg
L. Scott Gould
John Graustein
Rachel E. Green
Cecelia Guecia
Hyman M. Gulak
Robert Hark
Wendy Harlan
Peter L. Hatem
Jennifer G. Hayden
Melissa Hewey
Robert E. Hirshon
Virginia L. Holt
John Howard
Jill Hunter
Kaitlyn M. Husar
Jeanne Irwin
Rebecca Irving
Margaret T. Johnson
David M. Kallin
Charlie Katz-Levy
John Kelly
James D. Kerouac
Colleen A. Khoury
Sam Kilbourn
Jamie Kilbreth
Mara R. King
Theodore H. Kirchner
Rebecca Klotzle
Stephan W. Koerting
Barry L. Kohler
Chris L’Hommedieu
Margaret C. Lavoie
Jane Lee
Lindsay Leone
Benjamin M. Leoni
James Levis
M. Calien Lewis
Susan E. LoGiudice
Suzanne Bresslor Lowell
Susan V. Lowery
Faye Luppi
Maureen MacDonald
Jeana M. McCormick
John A. McArdle
John McElwee
Linda McGill
Kai McGintee
Sharon McHold
Christopher K. MacLean
Donna Martin
Eliza R. Mette
Sally Mills
Robert Mittel
John Moncure
Jessica Moninski
Victoria Morales
Nicholas J. Morrill
Isabel Mullin
Sara A. Murphy
Peter Murray
Tina Heather Nadeau
Nicholas S. Nadzo
Michael A. Nelson
Eliza Cope Nolan
Kyle Noonan
Richard J. O’Brien
Chelsea S. Peters
Jennifer Peters
David Plimpton
Judy Potter
Brendan P. Rielly
Amy Robidas
William Robitzek
Marty Rogoff
Hanna Sanders
Tina Schneider
Ron Schneider
Anne Schools
Heather Seasonwein
Conor Shankman
Neil Shankman
Timothy Shannon
Laura Shaw
Tom Sheehan
David S. Sherman Jr.
Molly Shukie
Peter Sly
Kaighn Smith Jr.
Beth A. Smith
Pamela Smith
Andrea Bopp Stark
Eric P. Stauffer
Graydon Stevens
Beth Stickney
Fred Stocking
John Sullivan
Andrea Sutter
Annee Tara
Ali Tozier
Carly Traub
Tom Trenholm
Kim Ervin Tucker
Stanley R. Tupper III
David Turesky
Alison Lukas Turner
David B. Van Slyke
Natalie W. West
Emily T. White
Heather Whiting
Steven Wright
Barry Zimmerman
Send questions/comments to the editors.
