'Standing Hawk' Kavanaugh Seen Limiting Plaintiffs' Access To Court

摘要

Environmentalists and Supreme Court watchers see Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's nominee to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, as a "standing hawk" who would limit plaintiffs' ability to challenge EPA and other agencies' rules as too lenient by raising the bar for public-interest groups to show "harm" from a government action.Speakers on both a July 11 press call hosted by environmental groups and a separate July 11 Environmental Law Institute (ELI) webinar said Kavanaugh's confirmation by the Senate likely would create new hurdles for plaintiffs to sue over EPA policies on the grounds that they do too little to protect human health or the environment. "Kennedy is not a standing hawk. By all accounts, Judge Kavanaugh is a standing hawk," said John Ellwood, a former Department of Justice (DOJ) and White House Office of Legal Counsel official who is now a partner at Vinson & Elkins, during the ELI event.