The Senate Judiciary Committee continued an at-times-raucous confirmation process for Brett M. Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, on Sept. 6. Since hearings began on Sept. 4, they have been marked by daily interruptions—in the audience and from the dais—something Professor Richard Garnett of the University of Notre Dame Law School regrets. “Our confirmation practices and norms have been degrading steadily for the past quarter-century, since the Judge Robert Bork nomination, and it is hard to see a way out of the current partisan morass,” he said in an email to America.

Controversies over documents related to Judge Kavanaugh’s employment as an associate White House counsel and later White House Staff Secretary during the George W. Bush administration upended the first day of the process. Many documents were withheld from senators as “confidential” and 42,000 pages of other documents were released to senators just hours before testimony began on Sept. 4, provoking a fiery partisan fracas.

Sporadic protests have disrupted each day of the hearings so far. One man yelled, “This is a democracy, not the mafia,” as he was dragged out of the hearing room on Sept. 5. Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, scolded Senate Democrats on Sept. 5 for the previous day’s disruptions: “In the audience, 70 people were arrested yesterday who were following their lead.”

The first round of questioning that day lasted well into the night. The second round continued into the evening on Sept. 6 after the morning became mired in questions about access to and confidentiality of documents.

Sister Simone Campbell, the executive director of the Network lobby for Catholic social justice, does not like what she has seen so far. She told America that it is “quite disappointing that even when asked a very direct question, [Judge Kavanaugh] doesn’t respond.”

A letter signed by Sister Campbell and 1,550 other Catholic faith leaders was released before the hearings began. It called for senators to consider Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination with respect to five areas: health care, immigration, labor rights, voting rights and the death penalty. It also urged U.S. Catholics to prioritize the real-world implications of judicial appointments.

“As Catholics, we believe that any government official—including a Supreme Court Justice—must be concerned with the needs of people who are marginalized, not just the rich and powerful or a member of one’s own political party,” the letter writers said.

Pointed questions raised by committee members touched on abortion. Early Wednesday morning, Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California, referenced Judge Kavanaugh’s previous comments on Roe v. Wade when she asked, “What do you mean by ‘settled law’?”

Judge Kavanaugh replied that Roe v. Wade is an “important precedent” and “has been reaffirmed many times over the past 45 years.”

Pressed by Senator Lindsey O. Graham, Republican of South Carolina, on revisiting prior rulings, the judge said, “I listen to all arguments.”

Pressed by Senator Lindsey O. Graham, Republican of South Carolina, on revisiting prior rulings, the judge said, “I listen to all arguments.”

On Sept. 6, Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, asked about the case Priests for Life v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in which the judge penned a dissenting opinion that would have allowed employers to exempt themselves from providing contraceptive coverage. “Under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” Judge Kavanaugh explained, “the question was first was this a substantial burden on their religious exercise, and it seemed to me quite clearly it was.”

Labor and immigration issues also featured prominently as the senators grilled the Supreme Court candidate. Democrats charged that Judge Kavanaugh’s judicial opinions and commentary reflect judgment that is outside the mainstream, while Republicans argued his record underscores his “independence and impartiality.”

Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, mentioned Agri Processor v. National Labor Relations Board, a case against an Iowa wholesaler of kosher meat that came before Judge Kavanaugh during his time on the United States Court of Appeals for the Washington, D.C., circuit court. The company employed hundreds of undocumented immigrants who experienced “12-hour shifts without overtime pay, exposure to dangerous chemicals, sexual harassment and child labor.” The majority opinion said that Judge Kavanaugh’s dissent, which held that Agri Processor’s immigrant workers should not be allowed to unionize, would lead to an “absurd result.”

Mr. Grassley said that Judge Kavanaugh rules “for the party that has the law on their side” and that he “will vindicate the rights of those who are less powerful in our society.” He cited a case in which the judge ruled for a union against Walmart on the grounds that the company had engaged in unfair labor practices.

Mr. Garnett wrote in an email to America that “senators’ behavior and misleading charges are miseducating Americans about the role of the court and the job of a judge.”

“One of the biggest mistakes people make about the court, and about justices, is thinking that the characteristics of the parties in a case should determine the court’s ruling,” he said. “Judges are supposed to evaluate legal arguments, not litigants.

“I cannot speak to the merits of the Agri Processor dissent,” Mr. Garnett said. “Judges dissent all the time, of course, and the fact that, in a particular case, a majority disagreed with Judge Kavanaugh tells us nothing about Kavanaugh’s intelligence, experience or qualifications.”

Judge Kavanaugh’s religious faith briefly came into focus during the hearings. On Wednesday, Mr. Graham requested that Judge Kavanaugh describe “the difference between Brett Kavanaugh the man and Brett Kavanaugh the judge.”

Judge Kavanaugh detailed his volunteer work with Catholic Charities’ St. Maria’s Meals program in Washington, D.C., and his membership on the board of Washington Jesuit Academy.

“We are all God’s children. We are all equal,” he said. “People have gotten there because maybe they have a mental illness; maybe they had a terrible family situation; maybe they lost a job and had no family. But every person you serve a meal to is just as good as me or better.

 

“Standing in the shoes of others…we could all be that homeless person. We could all be that kid who needs a more structured educational environment.”

He also quoted Matthew 25: “For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited me in; naked, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me.”

One line of questioning concerned Judge Kavanaugh’s employment in the Bush White House and broached issues like torture and mass surveillance. Asked by Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, about “warrantless surveillance,” Judge Kavanaugh said: “There was so much going on in the wake of Sept. 11…. There were so many issues to consider for the president and for the legal team.” He said several times that “every day for the next seven years was Sept. 12, 2001.”

Mr. Durbin charged that Judge Kavanaugh lied during his 2006 District Court confirmation hearing when he said he “was not involved and am not involved in the questions about the rules governing detention of combatants.”

Senators Cory A. Booker and Kamala D. Harris, Democrats of New Jersey and California, wanted to discuss voting rights—another topic underlined in the Network letter. Mr. Booker compared Judge Kavanaugh’s vote to uphold a South Carolina voter I.D. law to Jim Crow-era poll taxes.

The Senate next will question a number of legal experts, some of whom support and others oppose the judge’s nomination.

Brandon Sanchez is an audience voices reporter at The Wall Street Journal. Previously, he was an O’Hare fellow at America.