TIME

THE COST TO THE COURT

THE BATTLE OVER BRETT KAVANAUGH’S NOMINATION IS ANOTHER BLOW TO AMERICA’S THIRD BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT
Politicization has undermined public faith in the Supreme Court

THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, LOFTY PEDESTAL OF THE BLACK-ROBED SOLONS, HAD NEVER SEEN A JOB-INTERVIEW PROCESS LIKE THIS: ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT, THE NOMINEE DECLARING ON CABLE NEWS THAT HE HAD BEEN A VIRGIN WELL PAST high school, the President declaring the whole spectacle the result of a Democratic “big fat con.” But then, even before the scheduled Senate hearing on allegations of sexual assault by Brett Kavanaugh, it was clear the Kavanaugh nomination would be a historic moment for the court.

It is tempting to see l’affaire Kavanaugh as just another contemporary political carnival, replete with angry protests and partisan recriminations. But it could hardly have more serious consequences. The allegations themselves are shocking: multiple women have come forward with accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh, and he has forcefully claimed his innocence. The families of Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, his first accuser, are

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