Judge Napolitano Stunned by Brett Kavanaugh Siding with SCOTUS Liberals in Antitrust Case Against Apple

Judge Napolitano Stunned by Brett Kavanaugh Siding with SCOTUS Liberals in Antitrust Case Against Apple

The Supreme Court issued a ruling Monday morning in which Justice Brett Kavanaugh surprisingly sided with the Court’s liberal wing. And perhaps no one was more surprised than Judge Andrew Napolitano.

Kavanaugh wrote the opinion for the 5-4 majority in Apple Inc v. Pepper et al, a class-action lawsuit accusing Apple of antitrust violations involving its app store. The Court’s decision, in Napolitano’s words, “radically expand[s] plaintiff’s rights to commence actions against deep-pocketed corporations.”

He continued, “All the indications about Brett Kavanaugh were he was a conservative that wouldn’t listen to the other side…he said ‘I am not a monolithic anything, I listen to the facts and I apply the law.'”

Of course Kavanaugh was picked for the Supreme Court because the Federalist Society, in recommending him to President Trump, thought he would be a monolithic conservative. Which makes his decision to side with all four of the Court’s liberals, the first time he has done so, all the more perplexing.

Perhaps Kavanaugh was signaling his occasional willingness to break with the Court’s conservatives, and used a minor decision to do it. When it comes to more significant decisions — say, overturning Roe v. Wade or allowing partisan gerrymandering — it will be more of a surprise if he sides with the liberal wing.

And in fact Kavanaugh sided with the Court’s conservatives in another 5-4 case on Monday, one that overturned a 40-year-old precedent. That decision has court watchers warning that Roe v. Wade is in serious danger. Though perhaps that makes his Apple decision even more confusing.

Watch the video above, via Fox News.

Gary Legum

Gary Legum has written about politics and culture for Independent Journal Review, Salon, The Daily Beast, Wonkette, AlterNet and McSweeney's, among others. He currently lives in his native state of Virginia.

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