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Judge Brett Kavanaugh will not teach a class at Harvard Law School in the upcoming winter, as he was expected to do, according to an email announcement from the university to its law students on Monday, October 1.
Kavanaugh has taught the course “The Supreme Court since 2005” for almost 10 years at Harvard, but he will not return to the course during Harvard’s January Term 2019.
“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,” Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs Catherine Claypoole wrote to Harvard Law students in an email Monday night, according to the Harvard Crimson.
Students Protest Having Kavanaugh As Law Lecturer
The announcement followed several protests by students and alumni at Harvard, where Kavanaugh had taught since 2009. Hundreds of graduates from Harvard Law School signed a letter calling on the school to rescind Kavanaugh’s appointment as a lecturer.
“Now more than ever, HLS must send a clear message that it takes sexual violence seriously,” wrote the letter. “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.”
Students also walked out of classrooms Monday, September 24 to participate in a rally protesting Harvard’s silence at the time on Kavanaugh’s scheduled course and to show solidarity with the women who have accused Kavanaugh of misconduct.
“People are coming together to say, ‘This isn’t the type of person we want teaching at Harvard Law,'” a law lecturer and 2010 graduate Jessica Lynn Corsi said. It’s an incredibly important job, she said, to shape the minds of students destined to become Supreme Court justices, legal scholars and other leaders.
More than 800 students have signed the letter in less than three days. Four Harvard Law students also called on the law school to investigate Kavanaugh, in a Harvard Law Record op-ed on Thursday, September 20according to The Daily Caller.
“Will Harvard Law School take seriously the credible allegation of Kavanaugh’s sexual assault against a young woman before he is allowed to continue teaching young women?” wrote the students. “Or will Harvard allow him to teach students without further inquiry?”
“Unless a full and fair investigation is conducted, Harvard Law School cannot allow Kavanaugh to continue teaching its students and the Senate cannot confirm him to the Supreme Court,” they added.
Yale Law Also Expressed Concerns
Besides Harvard, students and faculty at Yale Law School have also expressed concerns about Kavanaugh, both on campus in Connecticut and in Washington. Kavanaugh is a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law.
Yale Law School Dean Heather Gerken issued a statement on Sept. 24 that said 50 faculty members signed a letter calling on the Senate Judiciary Committee to conduct an investigation into allegations made against Kavanaugh.
Gerken also joined the American Bar Association (ABA) in calling for an investigation into Kavanaugh on Friday, September 28, according to a tweet.
“Proceed with the confirmation process without further investigation is not in the best interest of the Court or our profession,” wrote the statement.