Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh marked his first anniversary Sunday of overcoming a bruising confirmation battle to claim a seat on the Supreme Court, solidifying a conservative majority forged by President Trump’s nominations.
His presence gave the bench a solid conservative tilt for the first time in decades and opened the door to new tests of abortion rights, religious liberty and other longstanding rulings.
“Conservatives know how important the court is and how significant President Trump’s ability to nominate these two justices was, so this is just another example of his judicial legacy,” said Carrie Severino, chief counsel of the conservative Judicial Crisis Network.
Mr. Trump’s second high court pick took the seat of retired Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who was long seen as the bench’s swing vote. It’s now Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. who has taken on the pendulum role — not Justice Kavanaugh, though he did side with Justice Roberts 92 percent of the time last term, according to the Empirical SCOTUS Blog.
Justice Samuel A. Alito, who has built a reputation as a loyal rightist voice on the bench, sided the most with Justice Kavanaugh last year.
“The court is now comprised of such a large number of textualists and originalists,” said Ms. Severino.
Justice Kavanaugh made his stamp on the issue of religious liberty in a case last term that tested the legality of a nearly 100-year-old Peace Cross on public land in Maryland that memorialized fallen World War I soldiers.
A group of atheists had challenged the memorial. They said it ran afoul of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution that prevents the government’s endorsement of a single religion, also known as the separation of church and state.
In another opinion defending the constitutionality of the cross, Justice Kavanaugh wrote, “The practice of displaying religious memorials, particularly religious war memorials, on public land is not coercive and is rooted in history and tradition.”
And in a case brought by a Buddhist death row inmate in Texas, challenging prison policies that only permitted a prison chaplain or a Muslim imam in the execution chamber rather than a faith leader of his religion, Justice Kavanaugh sided with the Buddhist man.