Mike Davis, a former law clerk for Justice Neil Gorsuch known for disbanding his law firm to work for the Supreme Court and serving Senator Chuck Grassley on the Judiciary Committee, has been the center of a fraught discourse. Particularly, Davis has been noted for his objections to judicial nominees confirming under oath, whether or not they plan to overrule Brown v. Board.
To understand the magnitude of this issue, one must appreciate the importance of the landmark case Brown v. Board, responsible for ruling segregation in schools unconstitutional. As the norm, the judicial nominees should respond affirmatively to their belief and respect for this significant case – something that some of the Federalist Society’s key judicial nominees struggled to communicate, presumably running counter to their recent oath.
However, this concern was met with dismissive responses from FedSoc loyalists, arguing that Davis was raising the issue that nominees should not testify their support or opposition to any precedent, not specifically Brown v. Board. They maintained that nominees were merely practicing judicial prudence, sidestepping questions about landmark cases, and it didn’t insinuate a broad assault on the Fourteenth Amendment.
In a disturbing turn, Davis appears to advocate mass incarceration and vigilantism against what he identifies as an underclass, a definition that includes “hard-working, law-abiding” individuals. His position may be challenging to digest, especially considering the significant role he previously held within the Supreme Court, impacting the nomination of individuals tasked with maintaining the balance of justice.
For further reading on Davis and related topics, the following articles might be of interest: ‘Asking About Brown v. Board Is ‘Gutter Politics,’ According To Senate Judiciary Official’, ‘Law Clerk Explains To Reporter That He Really Is Kind Of A Jerk’ and ‘Originalists Do Not Think Segregation Was Unconstitutional, And Wish You’d Stop Bothering Them About It’.