Judge Kavanaugh Will No Longer Teach Harvard Course
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Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s course offered at Harvard Law School will no longer be available.
For almost ten years, Kavanaugh taught a course titled, “The Supreme Court Since 2005.”
The Harvard Crimson reports:
“Today, Judge Kavanaugh indicated that he can no longer commit to teaching his course in January Term 2019, so the course will not be offered,” Associate Dean and Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs Catherine Claypoole wrote in the email, which she sent on behalf of the Law School’s Curriculum Committee.
A Harvard Law School spokesperson confirmed late Monday night that Kavanaugh will not teach his course, titled “The Supreme Court Since 2005” and slated to last for three weeks. Kavanaugh has taught at the Law School for roughly a decade.
The Washington Post links the class cancellation to a letter by Harvard Law School graduates demanding the school pull Kavanaugh as a lecturer.
The letter to the school’s dean, John Manning, asked that Kavanaugh’s appointment as the Samuel Williston Lecturer on Law be rescinded and that he not be allowed to teach in the winter term, as had been planned.
“Now more than ever, HLS must send a clear message that it takes sexual violence seriously,” they wrote. “The accusations against Judge Kavanaugh, including those by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, are credible and grave. They seriously call into question his character and morality, and should disqualify him from . . . any position of esteem, including lectureships at HLS.”
Read the full letter here.
We are alumni of Harvard Law School. We write to ask that the Law School rescind Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh’s appointment as the Samuel Williston Lecturer on Law, and that he not be allowed to teach on the January 2019 Winter Term.
Now more than ever, HLS must send a clear message that it takes sexual violence seriously. Too often throughout history, sexual assault and violence against women and girls have been dismissed. Victims have been ignored, personally attacked, and revictimized when they come forward. Perpetrators — often privileged men in positions of power — have been protected. This has been true in every corner of both the legal profession and academia. The accusations against Judge Kavanaugh, including those by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, are credible and grave. They seriously call into question his character and morality, and should disqualify him from a lifetime appointment as a Supreme Court Justice. They likewise should disqualify him from any position of esteem, including lectureships at HLS.
The unsubstantiated sexual assault claims against Judge Kavanaugh are having a devastating impact on his personal life and character.