Let’s now consider what bearing Second Circuit nominee Steven Menashi’s writings during and immediately after college (see Part 1 post) ought to have on his nomination.
To be clear, I entirely agree with Carrie Severino that Menashi’s youthful writings show him to be “a thoughtful, measured intellectual,” someone who “went to great lengths to fairly frame issues” and who “discussed controversial issues with civility.” Yes, as befit his role, he sometimes wrote with a polemical flourish. But the writings that CNN has highlighted all strike me as well within the bounds of responsible debate.
Does that mean that there aren’t any passages, written against a deadline and amid the competing demands of classwork, that Menashi, in hindsight, might have wished that he had written differently? Of course not.
Let’s say that you dislike some of the views that Menashi—or some other nominee—expressed or the manner in which he expressed them. What weight should that have in your assessment of his nomination?
The CNN article states that Menashi’s youthful writings “offer a window into Menashi’s worldview.” That is surely correct. But it is only one link in a longer chain that would have to be forged to make those writings bear significantly on his nomination.
I’m not going to argue that youthful writings—or youthful acts—are categorically irrelevant. But how many mature adults think that they have the same outlook and sensibilities and judgment that they had in college? And if they recognize that they have matured and developed, shouldn’t they be open to the likelihood that other people have as well?
Further, whatever policy positions Menashi held or holds have little or no bearing on his role as a judge if Menashi understands judging to be distinct from politics and if he embraces an interpretive methodology that enforces, rather than blurs, that distinction. All indications are that he does.
In short, even those who might view Menashi’s youthful writings unfavorably shouldn’t see those writings as bearing negatively on his nomination.