Professor Joh answers New Republic's question: What would you ask Brett Kavanaugh?

Writer Matt Ford of The New Republic posed the question “What Would You Ask Brett Kavanaugh?” to several law professors around the country. He revealed the results in a story published on Sept. 4, the same day Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing began.

Professor Elizabeth Joh replied to Ford with four questions for Kavanaugh:

  • What are the circumstances in which a Supreme Court precedent should be overturned?
  • How necessary is the exclusionary rule to protect Fourth Amendment rights?
  • How would you describe the judicial approach the Court has used to interpret the 11th Amendment in favor of state sovereign immunity and against recognizing protecting rights in various circumstances?
  • What is the appropriate role for the Court when asked to interpret the Constitution as it applies to new technologies used by the police that may quickly and irrevocably affect people’s sense of privacy?

“I think this should elicit a more interesting answer about Roe than the question we have been hearing, that is, ‘Is Roe settled law?’” Joh added. “Of course Roe is settled law, until five justices decide that the case may need reexamination.” She also noted that the court has been “increasingly hostile” to the exclusionary rule in recent years and carved out multiple exceptions to it.

Professor Joh's scholarship focuses on criminal procedure and policing, with a special emphasis on DNA evidence, undercover policing, and new surveillance technologies. She is the recipient of King Hall’s 2017 Distinguished Teaching Award.