Thread by @dbthaw

I am saddened by how strongly I feel compelled to sign this letter opposing Judge #Kavanaugh's confirmation.

But as an administrative law professor, the decline in our respect for public institutions terrifies me.

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nytimes.com/interactive/20…

Scholars of administrative law, among other things, teach, study, and write about public administration. This is a topic which has been vastly underappreciated in our nation for some time. (Although after the 2016 election, enrollments in my class finally started ticking up.) /2

Failing to take serious the importance of public administration runs the risk that critical needs -- non-poisonous water, efficacious national and #cyber defense, due process of law, and other many important guarantees of our Constitution and our laws may not be implemented. /3

Public institutions, usually units of the government we call "agencies," are responsible for giving *effect* to our laws. These institutions, perhaps contemplated by the Constitution, are not expressly addressed by it. Rather, we trust the three branches must "supervise" them. /3

The courts' role in "supervising" these institutions is spelled out in (what is to most people) an obscure omnibus law called the Administrative Procedure Act. While Congress can of course change this law, it has little incentive to do so. And thus much is left to the courts. /4

This is particularly true in a time when we have a Presidential administration which has prioritized other policy goals above a focus on public administration. (Which may well be a valid policy choice, but that choice has consequences.) /5

This isn't about whether or not I agree with Judge #Kavanaugh's interpretive style, jurisprudence, or expressed/implied political beliefs. Nor is it about how much experience or education he has. /6

This is about whether or not the Judge has demonstrated an *absence* of character and temperament required appropriate at bare minimum for the Court, and whether or not that demonstration would carry over (explicitly or implicitly) into his jurisprudence on the Bench. /7

Jurisprudence which, again, supervises the agencies -- the places where the "rubber meets the road" -- for how individuals interact with the government.
/8

Remember all those times you mailed, called, or went to a government office? Getting a driver's license? Paying or disputing a parking ticket? Tax season? Veterans' benefits administration?

There are all interactions, the doctrine governing which is decided by the Courts. /9

(Oh, and BTW -- Judge Kavanaugh currently sits on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which historically has had the greatest impact on that body of law. But that's a conversation for another day.) /10

In summary, does Judge #Kavanaugh represent the kind of character, personality, and temperament -- in his behavior *before the U.S. Senate* -- that we demand of someone holding a lifetime appointment to the highest impartial adjudicatory body in our Nation? /11

If your answer to the above is yes, I urge you to consider how you square that with what you expect of those who bring you your mail, renew your driver's licenses, process your tax returns, administer your VA benefits, or mail your Social Security Checks. /12

I cannot write better than does the letter the reasons why I believe the Judge's behavior before the Committee demands a "no" answer to the appropriateness of his character. /13

And therefore I urge all members of the @USSenate to read the letter and think about what it says.

@SenateGOP - there are many options remaining to confirm another, unvarnished choice who matches your political beliefs.

@SenateDems - consider any such nomination fairly. /14

While I expect very little to come of my longest-ever Twitter thread, this nonetheless needs to be said. Over and over. By many people.

Diversity of viewpoints is critical to a functioning representative republic or democracy. /15

I hope never again will so many law professors so openly agree on something.

This level of agreement among politically diverse voices should only happen in extreme circumstances.

@USSenate, the Court's legacy, and that of our institutions' integrity, is in your hands.

/end