Kavanaugh's emotions showed he's human. That's a good thing in a Supreme Court justice. Kavanaugh's emotional testimony isn't disqualifying for the Supreme Court. I've been around judges my whole life. It's the robotic ones who terrify me.

Ruben Navarrette Jr. | Opinion columnist

If you think the Brett Kavanaugh circus has left town for good now that our new associate justice has taken his seat on the Supreme Court, think again.

If Democrats seize control of the House Judiciary Committee, they are likely to impeach Kavanaugh.

Meanwhile, Chief Justice John Roberts has asked Judge Timothy M. Tymkovich — chief judge of the Denver-based 10th Circuit — to review more than a dozen ethics complaints against Kavanaugh tied to his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept 27.

If the Left gets a second chance to “get” Kavanaugh, the issue this time won’t be sexual assault. It’ll be judicial temperament.

Should the Justice continue to serve on the Supreme Court, or be removed because he is too emotional to decide cases fairly?

Some people have already made up their minds — based either on how Kavanaugh behaved before the Senate Judiciary Committee, or how they feel about the person who nominated him: President Donald Trump.

It's fine that Kavanaugh has a heart

More than 2,400 law professors signed a letter declaring that Kavanaugh “displayed a lack of judicial temperament that would be disqualifying for any court.”

And former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens recently said that Kavanaugh has “demonstrated a potential bias involving enough potential litigants before the court that he would not be able to perform his full responsibilities.”

It seems that many Americans want Kavanaugh to take early retirement. According to a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll, 51 percent of Americans disapprove of Kavanaugh being on the Supreme Court while only 41 percent approve. When asked if they wanted Congress to investigate Kavanaugh, even if it leads to his removal from the court, 53 percent said yes.

In other words, if Democrats do take control of the House, there is no political downside to going after Kavanaugh but there could be one if they don’t go after him.

So, ready or not, we’re going to have a national dialogue on judicial temperament.

I’m ready. I like my judges with an emotional streak. It reminds me they’re human. It’s the robotic ones who terrify me. I want judges who show compassion and empathy when needed, but also anger and outrage when appropriate.

More: Brett Kavanaugh deserves the benefit of the doubt. We can't let angry mobs rule America.

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Even with Jeff Flake's FBI investigation, Brett Kavanaugh Is unfit to serve

Naturally, Kavanaugh was furious when he was publicly accused of sexual assault, attempted rape, even gang rape — and he had to defend himself in front of his wife, parents and children. No doubt aware that his wife and daughters will likely be harassed for years, Kavanaugh shouted, sneered and fought back tears.

We already knew this guy had a brain. That reaction showed he also had a heart. Does that disqualify him from sitting on a bench?

I know a lot about judges. You could say, I grew up around them. My dad was a cop who wanted me to become a lawyer, so he put me in contact with a number of judges — and lawyers who became judges. During college, I worked as a law clerk for the District Attorney’s Office and the Public Defenders’ Office; in both jobs, I spent a lot of time at the courthouse, and met more judges. Later, I was an extern for a federal judge. And while working as a journalist and serving on editorial boards, I interviewed dozens of judges. And today, there are a few judges I consider friends.

So, I know a lot about judges. The best ones don’t shut off their emotions when they put on the robe.

There is one example, in particular, that I can’t shake: Rosemarie Aquilina, a judge on the 30th Circuit Court in Ingram County, Michigan. In January, she sentenced sexual offender Larry Nassar but not before ripping him to shreds for a full half hour.

Emotions are an essential part of the job

After dismissively tossing aside a letter that Nasser wrote to the court in which he defended his actions and claimed his accusers lied, Aquilina told him: “You still don’t get it.”

The disgraced former USA Gymnastics physician, and Michigan State University doctor, pled guilty to seven counts of criminal sexual conduct and admitted to using his position to molest and assault girls over the past two decades.

Aquilina gave everyone who wished to speak a chance to be heard, and she offered personal responses after each woman spoke. At the time, legal analysts said her comments were unusual. But Nasser victims thanked the judge for listening to their stories.

After hearing for seven days more than 150 women and girls say in court that Nassar had sexually abused them and, in many cases, ruined their lives, Aquilina was likely sick to her stomach.

And when the time came for sentencing, the judge dropped the hammer by giving Nassar up to 175 years in prison. She did it with gusto — and a healthy dose of emotion.

In her remarks, Aquilina said: “Our constitution does not allow for cruel and unusual punishment. If it did, I have to say, I might allow what he did to all of these beautiful souls — these young women in their childhood — I would allow someone or many people to do to him what he did to others.” She told Nasser: “I just signed your death warrant.”

Nassar’s lawyers have asked for a new sentencing hearing because, they say, Aquilina was biased against their client.

Yet, I’m sure that most Americans believe justice was done in the Nassar case.

Meanwhile, I’m also sure that lot of Americans hate Brett Kavanaugh. I get that. But they shouldn’t let their hatred override their common sense as they try to make a much larger point.

Don’t get it twisted. No one is talking about throwing out the law books. But emotion isn’t incompatible with being a judge. It’s an essential part of the job.

Ruben Navarrette Jr., a member of the USA Today Board of Contributors, is a syndicated columnist with the Washington Post Writers Group and host of the daily podcast, “Navarrette Nation.” Follow him on Twitter: @RubenNavarrette