October 1, 2018

Mitch McConnell Charles E. Schumer

Senate Majority Leader Senate Minority Leader
317 Russell Senate Office Building 322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senators:

Last week the nation heard testimony from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford alleging that Supreme
Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when she was fifteen years old. Dr.
Ford’s testimony was credible and compelling. Her allegations raise serious questions regarding
Judge Kavanaugh’s qualification for a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court.

As members of the faculty of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, we write to urge
you to adopt a process that will be fair to the parties and preserve the integrity of our nation’s
highest court. Unfortunately, as last week’s hearing demonstrated only too clearly, a partisan
hearing is a sorely insufficient forum in which to investigate serious and credible allegations of
sexual assault.

But it is not yet too late. We urge the Senate not to hold the vote on the nominee until the “fair
process” that both Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh claim that they want has taken place. At a
minimum, such a process should include a thorough FBI investigation of: (1) Dr. Ford’s
allegations; (2) all other allegations of sexual assault, including the claim described in the New
Yorker involving our fellow Coloradan Deborah Ramirez; (3) Judge Kavanaugh’s alcohol
consumption, given that the allegations against him involve his behavior while he was allegedly
intoxicated; (4) potentially false or misleading statements about the allegations in Judge
Kavanaugh’s sworn testimony, including but not limited to those raised here by the New York
Times. There are conflicting reports about the scope of the current FBI investigation, but in any
event, an investigation that does not reach these important issues will leave lingering and serious
doubts about the allegations against Judge Kavanaugh and his honesty in responding to them.

Moreover, an FBI investigation should not conclude the process. To gauge Judge Kavanaugh’s
fitness for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court, the Senate should hold additional
hearings that include the testimony of Mark Judge and any other relevant witnesses, including
expert witnesses as necessary. At or before the end of these proceedings, the Senate should
publicly disclose all related documents. And finally, the process we have described should not
attempt to meet an artificial deadline. Rushing a confirmation process for a lifetime appointment
erodes public confidence in the process itself.

A process lacking the elements we have described is—to put it bluntly—a sham. If Judge
Kavanaugh is confirmed, such a process will taint his presence on the court as long as he remains
there. More importantly, a sham confirmation process damages the public’s confidence in the
Supreme Court as an institution. Damage to our judiciary threatens our democracy and cannot
easily be undone.

As legal educators, we teach our students that justice demands fair process. We hope that you
will adopt a process that we can hold up as a model, not as a cautionary tale.

Sincerely:

(all signatories express their views in their personal capacity)

Rachel Arnow-Richman
Debra Austin
Rebecca Aviel
Stacey Bowers
Alan Chen
Jennifer M. Cooper
Roberto L. Corrada
Patience Crowder
Catherine Dunn
KK DuVivier
Ian Farrell
Alexi Freeman
César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández
Rashmi Goel
Mark Hughes
José Roberto (Beto) Juárez, Jr.
Sam Kamin
Margaret Kwoka
Tamara Kuennen
Christopher Lasch
Nancy Leong
Kevin Lynch
Justin Marceau
Govind Persad
Justin Pidot
Tom I. Romero II
Laura Rovner
Nantiya Ruan
Catherine Smith
Don Smith
Robin Walker Sterling
Kate Stoker
Celia Taylor
David Thomson
Lindsey Webb
Annecoos Wiersema