Nominated by Donald Trump
Brett M. Kavanaugh
Associate Justice since Oct 6, 2018
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Copyright © 2026 PLEJ LLC. All rights reserved.
This is not an official Supreme Court website.
Copyright © 2026 PLEJ LLC. All rights reserved.
Nominated by Donald Trump
Associate Justice since Oct 6, 2018
Born
Feb 12, 1965
Birthplace
Washington, D.C.
Took seat
Oct 6, 2018
Authored opinions
68
Majority votes
160
Recusals
0
Biography
was born in Washington, D.C., on February 12, 1965. He married Ashley Estes in 2004, and they have two daughters - Margaret and Liza. He received a B.A. from Yale College in 1987 and a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1990. He served as a law clerk for Judge Walter Stapleton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit from 1990-1991, for Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1991-1992, and for Justice Anthony M. Kennedy of the U.S. Supreme Court during the 1993 Term. In 1992-1993, he was an attorney in the Office of the Solicitor General of the United States. From 1994 to 1997 and for a period in 1998, he was Associate Counsel in the Office of Independent Counsel. He was a partner at a Washington, D.C., law firm from 1997 to 1998 and again from 1999 to 2001. From 2001 to 2003, he was Associate Counsel and then Senior Associate Counsel to President George W. Bush. From 2003 to 2006, he was Assistant to the President and Staff Secretary for President Bush. He was appointed a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 2006. President Donald J. Trump nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and he took his seat on October 6, 2018.
Oral argument analytics
Speaking time
3h 9m
October Term 2025 · Rank #6
Questions asked
563
12.0/case · 47 cases
Speaking pace
174 wpm
33,004 total words
Engagement
492
interruptions · 0 first questioner
Term-by-term
| Term | Time | Questions | WPM | Cases | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October Term 2025 | 3h 9m | 563 | 174 | 47 | #6 |
| October Term 2024 | 3h 16m | 540 | 173 | 57 | #6 |
Recent oral argument activity
“What are the specific exceptions that you would identify? Ineffective assistance of counsel? And a sentence exceeds the statutory maximum, right? And unconstitutional factors used in the sentence?”
Authored opinions
Restitution under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act of 1996 is criminal punishment for purposes of the Ex Post Facto Clause.
Members of the U. S. Preventive Services Task Force are inferior officers whose appointment by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services is consistent with the Appointments Clause. Art. II, §2, cl. 2.
Recent votes
“One oddity I think that you have to deal with is that your theory would mean that claims against brokers would be preempted for intrastate transportation but not for interstate transportation, which seems a bit backwards.”
“Which way does the suspension power cut here?”
“If the trial judge had said do you have any response and they'd said we have no pretext argument, that's the essential equivalent of withdrawing the Batson objection.”
“Why do you want to be in federal court?”
“And that's -- you're good with that phrasing right there?”
The Hobbs Act does not bind district courts in civil enforcement proceedings to an agency’s interpretation of a statute. District courts must independently determine the law’s meaning under ordinary principles of statutory interpretation while affording appropriate respect to the agency’s interpretation.
Language
Words used most frequently across oral arguments and opinions.
Term
Source
Financial disclosures
Annual financial disclosure reports covering gifts, travel reimbursements, investments, and liabilities (2021–2024). Sort any column and filter by year to explore the data.
Gifts
No reportable gifts
Travel & reimbursements
Year
Showing 5 of 5 rows
| 2024 | Notre Dame Law School | October 1-9, 2024 | Notre Dame, Indiana | Law School Class - Teaching | Transportation, lodging, meals. | View |
| 2024 | Notre Dame Law School | November 8-10, 2024 | Notre Dame, Indiana | Moot Court Competition - Judging | Transportation, lodging, meals. | View |
| 2023 | Notre Dame Law School | January 22-23, 2023 | Notre Dame, Indiana | Speak at Law School Symposium | Transportation, lodging, meals. | View |
| 2023 | Notre Dame Law School | March 5-11, 2023 | London, England | Law School Seminar - Teaching | Transportation, lodging, meals. | View |
| 2022 | Notre Dame, Kellogg Institute for International Studies | September 20-23, 2022 | Rome, Italy | Speak to and participate in conference with foreign and American judges. | Transportation, lodging, meals. | View |
Investments & trusts
Year
Showing 8 of 8 rows
| 2024 | Bank of America accounts Interest | $2.5K–$5K | $100.0K–$250K | — | View |
| 2024 | Emp. Ret. Sys. of TX/Texasaver 401k (Empower Ret) (Vanguard Inst Indx) Interest/Dividend | Up to $1K | Up to $15K | — | View |
| 2023 | Bank of America accounts Interest | $2.5K–$5K | $100.0K–$250K | — | View |
| 2023 | Emp. Ret. Sys. of TX/Texasaver 401k (Empower Ret) (Vanguard Inst Indx) Dividend | Up to $1K | Up to $15K | — | View |
| 2022 | Bank of America accounts Interest | Up to $1K | $15.0K–$50K | — | View |
| 2022 | Emp. Ret. Sys. of TX/Texasaver 401k (Empower Ret) (Vanguard Inst Indx) Interest/Dividend | Up to $1K | Up to $15K | — | View |
| 2021 | Bank of America accounts Interest | Up to $1K | $15.0K–$50K | — | View |
| 2021 | Emp. Ret. Sys. of TX/Texasaver 401k (Empower Ret) (Vanguard Inst Indx) Interest/Dividend | Up to $1K | Up to $15K | — | View |
Non-investment income
Year
Filer
Showing 9 of 9 rows
| 2024 | Self | Notre Dame Law School -- Teaching | $31,815.00 | View |
| 2024 | Spouse | Chevy Chase Village Section 5, Town Manager, Salary | — | View |
| 2023 | Self | Notre Dame Law School -- Teaching | $25,000.00 | View |
| 2023 | Self | Book Royalty Income -- Javelin Group LLC / Regnery Publishing | $340,000.00 | View |
| 2023 | Spouse | Chevy Chase Village Section 5, Town Manager, Salary | — | View |
| 2022 | Self | Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University -- Teaching | $29,894.96 | View |
| 2022 | Spouse | Chevy Chase Village Section 5, Town Manager, Salary | — | View |
| 2021 | Self | Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University--Teaching | $25,541.66 | View |
| 2021 | Spouse | Chevy Chase Village Section 5, Town Manager, Salary | — | View |
Positions held outside the Court
Year
Showing 11 of 11 rows
| 2024 | Adjunct Professor (2024) | Notre Dame Law School | View |
| 2024 | Coach (2024) | Blessed Sacrament (D.C.) 5th-6th grade CYO girls basketball team; high school CYO girls basketball team | View |
| 2023 | Adjunct Professor (2023) | Notre Dame Law School | View |
| 2023 | Coach (2023) | Blessed Sacrament (D.C.) 5th-6th grade girls basketball team | View |
| 2022 | Visiting Professor of Law (2022) | Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University | View |
| 2022 | Coach (2022) | Blessed Sacrament (D.C.) 7th-8th grade girls basketball team | View |
| 2022 | Adviser (2022) | CYO Sports Advisory Board, Blessed Sacrament (D.C.) | View |
| 2022 | Adjunct Professor (2023) | Notre Dame Law School | View |
| 2021 | Visiting Professor of Law | Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University | View |
| 2021 | Coach | Blessed Sacrament (D.C.) 7th-8th grade girls basketball team | View |
| 2021 | Adviser | CYO Sports Advisory Board, Blessed Sacrament (D.C.) | View |
Agreements & arrangements
Year
Showing 6 of 6 rows
| 2024 | 2024 | Adjunct Professor, Notre Dame Law School. Agreement to teach in 2024. | View |
| 2023 | 2023 | Adjunct Professor, Notre Dame Law School. Agreement to teach in 2023. | View |
| 2022 | 2022 | Visiting Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University. Agreement to teach in 2022. | View |
| 2022 | 2022 | Adjunct Professor, Notre Dame Law School. Agreement to teach in 2023. | View |
| 2021 | 2019-21 | Visiting Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University. Agreement to teach in 2019, 2020, 2021. | View |
| 2021 | 2022 | Visiting Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University. Agreement to teach in 2022. | View |
Liabilities
No reportable liabilities