The Los Angeles Times quoted Professor David S. Cohen concerning a 2017 speech in which Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh revealed this thinking on numerous specific matters that could come before the court.

The Times, in an article published July 11, noted that Kavanaugh praised the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist for his dissent in Roe v. Wade and for his criticism of efforts to separate church and state. Kavanaugh also praised Rehnquist for seeking to throw out a rule that bars police from using illegally obtained evidence.

The comments are significant, Cohen told the Times, because they were not embedded in an opinion in which he was bound by precedent.

“He is not writing as a judge,” Cohen said. “This is him telling us his own views.”

Cohen’s comments were also cited in articles published by The Washington Post on July 13 and by Vox on July 25.

On July 12, Cohen told The San Francisco Chronicle that Kavanaugh had made his positions clear.

“I think he’s telling us that he thinks then-Justice Rehnquist was right in Roe vs. Wade,” Cohen said. “Every nominee swears allegiance to precedent during confirmation proceedings, and then they vote with their own views.”