Justices Sotomayor, Kagan warn against "politicization" of the Supreme Court

Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens said Thursday that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's testimony a week ago convinced him to oppose Kavanaugh's confirmation. Sandra Day O'Connor, David Souter and Anthony Kennedy, whom Kavanaugh was nominated to replace, have not said anything about the nomination process. The Palm Beach Post notes that "as a justice, Stevens was one of three dissenting votes in the Bush v. Gore case that ordered Florida to end the ballot recount in the disputed presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, and effectively propelled Bush to the presidency". "But his performance during the hearings caused me to change my mind".

"I think there's merit to that criticism and I think the senators should really pay attention that", Stevens said Thursday.

Judge Kavanaugh now serves as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

"I know we talk about right, left, liberal and conservative, but to me, we need judges like I think Judge Kavanaugh will be ... ones that will interpret the Constitution and the laws as written, and not be freelancing when it comes to making public policy", the Texas Republican said.

Kavanaugh opponents held nationwide protests on Thursday, including a demonstration across the street from the ABA's headquarters in Chicago.

A retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice is changing his mind on SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Passion, chaos as Kavanaugh confirmation vote nears
Senate is expected to make its vote on Brett Kavanaugh , the judge spoke out for the first time following last week's hearing. But The Wall Street Journal reported late Thursday that Leland Keyser was being pressured by "allies" of Dr.

Kavanaugh and California professor Christine Blasey Ford testified in front of the Judiciary Committee on September 27 after Ford came forward with an allegation of sexual assault against the judge.

Stevens served on the Supreme Court from 1975 to 2010. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who broke with her party on Friday who voted against advancing (against a cloture motion to end Senate debate) Kavanaugh's nomination, voted "present".

"You can not help but like Clarence Thomas, which I don't think necessarily would be true of this particular nominee", he added.

The 98-year-old, since retiring, called for the repeal of the Second Amendment in a New York Times op-ed earlier this year.

Trump, himself accused by numerous women during the 2016 presidential race of sexual misconduct, wrote on Twitter that the Federal Bureau of Investigation report showed that the allegations against Kavanaugh were 'totally uncorroborated'.