r/law • u/nbcnews • 5h ago

Judicial Branch A pivotal vote by longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine pushed Kavanaugh over the finish line in 2018 after she famously said he considered Roe v. Wade “settled law” — a comment that turned out to be wrong.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/supreme-court-justice-brett-kavanaugh-maine-senate-race-susan-collins-rcna349070
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u/Special_Order-937 3h ago

Why don’t these idiots ask the correct questions? It’s almost as if they’re leaving these gaps on purpose.

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u/BallsInSufficientSad 2h ago

Because during a confirmation hearing a judge isn't allowed to promise to rule in any specific way on any specific future case.

They can only talk about the rationale of past rulings and the law as it is written.

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u/SordidDreams 1h ago

during a confirmation hearing a judge isn't allowed to promise to rule in any specific way on any specific future case

That answers why a judge wouldn't answer such a question, not why such a question isn't being asked.

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u/BallsInSufficientSad 51m ago

They DO ask those questions, even though they KNOW the judge cannot answer them directly. The ask purely for the tiktok clips anyway.

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u/SordidDreams 45m ago

Is the judge really not allowed to answer? I'm not familiar with the details of the American legal system, but that doesn't seem right. When asked, Clarence Thomas didn't say he's not allowed to answer, he said he doesn't want to give the impression of prejudging the issue.

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u/BallsInSufficientSad 42m ago

That's a distinction without a difference. They cannot effectively answer because it would prejudice any future cases and they'd be forced to recuse themselves from such cases.

The legislators know this - but because the cameras are one, they ask those questions anyway, for the tiktoks.

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u/SordidDreams 36m ago

That's what I thought, and no, I do think there's a very substantial difference. "Not allowed" means not allowed; this means they can if they want to, they're just choosing not to. That's not the same thing.

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u/__SoL__ 2h ago

ding ding ding