Highlights from Supreme Court Nom. Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Confirmation Hearings

Source: "File:10.18.2019, Ketanji Jackson.jpg" by H2rty is marked with CC BY-SA 4.0.

Senate Judiciary Committee hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson ended on March 24 following a three-day marathon of exhaustive and often-contentious questioning from senators regarding her record, judicial philosophy and views on issues of the day. 

President Biden’s nominee to fill retiring Justice Steven G. Breyer’s seat on the conservative supermajority bench appears poised to become the first Black woman confirmed to the nation’s highest court, though Jackson’s hearings were not without political theatrics and partisan attacks. 

Fielding questions from the Judiciary Committee’s 22 members for nearly 24 hours over two days, Jackson appeared controlled and patient as GOP senators pressed her on hot-button culture war issues — many outside the purview of a judge — along with her judicial approach and sentencing history. 

Democrats attempted to counter Republican efforts to tie Jackson to far-left philosophies and paint the nominee as an activist judge with a history of being “soft on crime,” with both parties taking advantage of the potential to score political points and amplify strategic messaging ahead of the midterms in November.

As Biden’s nominee is widely expected to be confirmed in the Senate, Jackson’s confirmation hearings were less of an evaluation of her judicial record than a platform for lawmakers to echo political talking points and denounce past Supreme Court decisions, specifically pertaining to precedents protecting abortion and same-sex marriage. In the evenly-split chamber with Vice-President Kamala Harris able to cast the tie-breaking vote, Democrats do not need Republican support to confirm Jackson — though the nominee has gained at least one Republican vote thus far, from Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). After three days of testimony, Democrats appear optimistic after clearing the biggest hurdle for Jackson’s historic confirmation.

Source: "File:USSupremeCourtWestFacade.JPG" by UpstateNYer is marked with CC BY-SA 3.0.

Here are four highlights from Jackson’s confirmation hearings:

Democrats hail historic nature of Jackson’s nomination

Jackson’s confirmation hearings began Monday, March 21 with a recognition of the historic nature of her nomination. As the first Black woman nominated to the Court, her appointment will mark the first time in history that there will be three people of color, and four women, on the bench.

During opening statements on Monday, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) delivered a passionate speech about the joy he felt to witness the historic moment of Jackson’s confirmation hearings, which he called “not a normal day for America.” 

"You have earned this spot. You are worthy. You are a great American," Booker told Jackson as she became visibly emotional.

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) acknowledged how Jackson’s nomination paves the way for young women and people of color who aspire to a career in law. The Senator asked Jackson what she’d tell young Americans who “doubt that they can one day achieve the same great heights that you have.”

“I hope to inspire people to try to follow this path,” she responded, “because I love this country, because I love the law, because I think it is important that we all invest in our future. And the young people are the future, and so I want them to know that they can do and be anything."

Jackson won’t align with a specific judicial philosophy, clarifies views on Roe 

The nominee repeatedly denied pressure from GOP senators to define her judicial philosophy, instead explaining that she has a three-part judicial methodology that guides her judgments. According to Jackson, this methodology includes eliminating “preconceived notions,” evaluating the facts and relevant material and then interpreting and applying the law to the facts in the case. 

Amid attacks that Jackson would act as an activist judge, or legislate from the bench, the nominee stressed that her judicial record, and guiding methodology, prove otherwise. 

“I am acutely aware that as a judge in our system I have limited power and I am trying in every case to stay in my lane,” Jackson explained, emphasizing that she aims to decide cases from a “position of neutrality.”

Jackson was asked to elaborate beyond her general judicial philosophy to clarify her views toward abortion. Regarding a woman's constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy protected by the Court’s 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, Jackson said the landmark decision is “settled law.”

As the Court will determine the fate of Roe by deciding a major challenge to abortion rights — Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization — in the spring before Jackson would take the bench, the nominee was asked to confirm if she would respect the court’s decision if Roe is overturned.

“Whatever the Supreme Court decides in Dobbs will be the precedent of the Supreme Court,” Jackson responded to questioning by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). “It will be worthy of respect in the sense that it is the precedent, and I commit to treating it as I would any other precedent.”

Jackson’s sentencing record brought to the fore

Jackson will bring unique qualifications to the Court: she’ll be the first former federal public defender to serve on the Court. Jackson also served as the vice-chair of the federal Sentencing Commission.

Honing in on Jackson’s sentencing in seven key child pornography cases, Republicans accused the judge of being too lenient and claimed Jackson's sentences were far lighter than what federal guidelines or prosecutors recommended. Claims that Jackson was unduly lenient on child pornography offenders are at odds with the fact that her judgments were largely in line with the sentencing norm. 

In one exchange, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) questioned Jackson on her handling of a case concerning an 18-year-old sentenced to three months in prison on child pornography charges after federal prosecutors requested a two-year sentence, arguing the sentence wasn’t more than a “slap on the wrist.”

“Judge, you gave him three months. My question is do you regret it or not?" Hawley questioned Jackson.

"What I regret is that in a hearing about my qualifications to be a justice on the Supreme Court, we've spent a lot of time focusing on this small subset of my sentences," Jackson replied. She later added that the Republicans criticizing her sentencing record did not have access to all filings that helped inform her decisions, including pre-sentencing reports.

Jackson, the mother of two daughters, also told senators she still has nightmares from reviewing graphic evidence from child pornography cases during her tenure as a judge.

A White House spokesperson later referred to Hawley’s rhetoric as an "embarrassing QAnon-signaling smear."

GOP employs national stage of confirmation hearings to tie nominee to culture war issues

Alongside allegations that Jackson is “soft on crime,” GOP senators — and particularly those with 2024 ambitions — put culture war issues pertinent to the Republican midterm platform front and center. Many aimed to characterize Jackson as a “woke” jurist who would “coddle” criminals, as asserted by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). 

Senators probed the judge’s views on myriad debates integral to the party’s midterm messaging, including critical race theory, abortion, cancel culture, policing, court-packing, guns and gender. Jackson acknowledged that many of these issues “never come up” in her work as a judge and are unlikely to be examined by the Court.

Zeroing in on gender politics and the recent debate over transgender women participating in women’s sports, Sen. Blackburn asked Jackson to define the word “women.” Dodging the question as outside her purview as a judge, Jackson replied, “I’m not a biologist.”

Alongside a stack of children's literature and blown-up illustrations from the book “Antiracist Baby” by Ibram X. Kendi on large poster board, Sen. Cruz chastised the curriculum of a school where Jackson serves on the board of trustees, alleging that they promote critical race theory. Mischaracterizing the message of Kendi’s book, Cruz asked the nominee if she agreed that “babies are racist.” Jackson paused, and sighed, clearly losing patience with a line of questioning seemingly irrelevant to her field. 

The judge endured several hours of questioning on political issues not linked to cases coming before the Court — or to cases ever decided by the Court. 

—

The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote on Jackson’s confirmation on April 4, after which a confirmation vote will take place on the floor later that week. Democrats emphasize they want Jackson confirmed to the bench before their two-week Easter recess that begins on April 8.