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Watch live as Senate Judiciary Committee begin hearing on Biden's Supreme Court nominee
Ketanji Brown Jackson, Joe Biden’s first Supreme Court nominee, appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the first of her confirmation hearings. The first Black woman to be nominated to the court, she will if confirmed replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer.
With the Democrats in control of the Senate and the court now heavily tilted in conservatives’ favour, Ms Brown Jackson – currently a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia – is expected to be confirmed barring some unforseen event.
However, some Republicans have lately begun attacking her for her past work as a public defender, focusing in particular on her work defending sexual offenders. Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, last week launched a broadside against her on Twitter, claiming without providing substantial context that “Judge Jackson has a pattern of letting child porn offenders off the hook for their appalling crimes, both as a judge and as a policymaker” and that “this is a record that endangers our children.”
Mr Hawley’s words and similar ones from other GOP senators have been widely criticised, with Democrat Tim Kaine describing them to The Independent as “wild claims”.
Recommended Who is Ketanji Brown Jackson? Notable opinions by high court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson How the White House has prepared for attacks on Ketanji Brown Jackson AOC mocks Lindsey Graham over Ketanji Brown Jackson ‘tantrum’: “When you’re more qualified than the person determining your qualifications” Lindsey Graham’s made-for-TV tantrum should remind everyone of what’s at stake
Key points Judge is first Black woman nominated to Supreme Court If confirmed, Ms Brown Jackson will replace liberal Clinton appointee Stephen Breyer Some Republicans have attacked Ms Brown for record defending sexual offenders Ted Cruz is using hearings to attack critical race theory
Show latest update 1648008300 GOP senators air grievances of nominations past on first day of questions for Ketanji Brown Jackson
Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee returned on Tuesday ready to air more grievances related to Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings in 2018, three years ago.
Others focused their time instead on mischaracterisations of her record or off-topic rants about critical race theory.
The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg looks back at day 2 of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s historic confirmation battle:
GOP senators air grievances of nominations past at Senate confirmation Nominee bats back questions about Critical Race Theory from one of her former colleagues on the Harvard Law Review – Texas Senator Ted Cruz
John Bowden 23 March 2022 04:05
1648005357 ABC News spots adorable note from Jackson’s daughter
While her mom was facing her first day of questions from senators on the Judiciary Committee, Ketanji Jackson Brown’s daughter Leila was apparently hard at work offering moral support to her mom.
A hand-drawn sign with balloons bearing the message “you got this!” was spotted on her chair by a reporter from ABC News.
A note reading "YOU GOT THIS!" sits on the seat of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's daughter Leila during Jackson's Supreme Court confirmation hearing. https://t.co/71FRWk3CXr pic.twitter.com/75GycEZGxS
— ABC News (@ABC) March 22, 2022
John Bowden 23 March 2022 03:15
1648003548 What are The Independent’s columnists saying about the Ketanji Brown Jackson hearings
There’s no shortage of opinions about Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
Here’s what our Voices columnists are writing.
Michael Arceneaux looked into GOP outrage that resurfaced today over the questioning of the GOP’s most recent Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, on matters of her faith. He argues those questions were legitimate, even if Senators like South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham argued otherwise during today’s hearing.
Graham is willfully obscuring the issue here. Nobody had any problem with Amy Coney Barrett saying she loved her family and her faith. What they were concerned about was Barrett’s membership of a fringe Catholic group called People of Praise, that teaches extremely hardline conservative notions such as the husband’s natural-born right to have authority over his wife. Considering Barrett had written about being stringently anti-abortion before — and considering that she has also written in the past about her belief that a Catholic judge’s religious beliefs should inform their decisions — her religion could be legitimately asked about during her own hearing. Indeed, Barrett became a justice despite all that, and is now poised to rule on cases related to abortion, marriage equality, and LGBT rights.
Lindsey Graham’s made-for-TV tantrum was shameful and pathetic | Michael Arceneaux While the first Black woman in history to be nominated for the Supreme Court answered questions at her hearing, Graham — a white man from South Carolina — was the one who wanted to rant about perceived discrimination and personal grievance
Meanwhile, Harriet Toner writes about how important it was that Ms Jackson spoke candidly about balancing her high-powered judicial career and her family life, a topic that isn’t always discussed enough in Washington and beyond.
Hearing Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson describe the challenge of juggling motherhood and career was a balm for working parents everywhere. It is not often that the battle to get it right, have it all and make it work is so openly acknowledged.
Ketanji Brown Jackson’s honesty about being a mother made me feel seen It’s not often a woman in a high-powered role chooses to talk so candidly about feeling like she didn’t always get it right
Josh Marcus 23 March 2022 02:45
1648001457 Looking back: Republicans promised no spectacles before contentious day 2 of hearings
Just a day before Sen Lindsey Graham would storm off the Judiciary Committee following an exchange with Ketanji Brown Jackson on the issue of liberal groups supporting her nomination, his colleagues pledged that this week’s hearings would occur without the spectacle that they blamed Democrats for causing around the Brett Kavanaugh hearings.
Sen Ted Cruz assured her that the hearing process “will not be a political circus” a day before he would go on to question her whether she believed it was OK to teach children that babies can be racist.
Read more from the AP:
Takeaways: Jackson makes history, GOP vows no 'spectacle' History was made the instant Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee
John Bowden 23 March 2022 02:10
1648000531 How will Kentanji Brown Jackson rule on abortion?
Now that conservatives have a comfortable 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court, many are wondering whether Roe v Wade, a landmark ruling protecting the right to an abortion, will finally be overturned after years of challenges from Republicans.
During her confirmation hearings on Tuesday, Ketanji Brown Jackson said the case is “settled law,” part of a line of abortion jurisprudence that “established a framework that the court has reaffirmed.”
Relying on past precedents, a legal concept known as stare decisis, “provides and establishes predictability, stability, it also serves as a restraint in this way on the exercise of judicial authority because the court looks at whether or not precedents are relied upon, whether they’re workable, in addition to whether or not they’re wrong,” she added.
This term, the Supreme Court has mulled a number of abortion cases with major implications for Roe. Here’s key coverage on the issue from The Independent.
Supreme Court appears likely to uphold Mississippi abortion law in major case Potential ruling could uphold state law or undermine Roe by allowing states to impose their own bans
Supreme Court allows abortion clinics in Texas to sue but leaves strict law in effect The court threw out the federal government’s challenge to the Texas law
Josh Marcus 23 March 2022 01:55
1647998731 ‘I am not the Congress,” Ketanji Brown Jackson says, as GOP links her to low average sentence for rape convictions
Multiple GOP senators have tried to argue that Ketanji Brown Jackson has treated criminals too leniently when she’s handing down sentences, particularly for sex offenders.
“Do you think 7.2 months is too long or too short for someone convicted of rape?” Tom Cotton of Arkansas asked on Tuesday, referring to the average sentence for rape convictions, before going on to ask a similarly abstract question, if more people accused of murder should be arrested, given current crime clearance statistics.
Ms Brown Jackson, currently a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, said these broader enforcement questions are better put to Congress, which decides on the punishments and sentencing guidelines judges later apply.
“We should hold people accountable for their crimes. If people are not being held accountable, that’s a problem,” she said.
“I am not the Congress,” she continued, adding, “I am not making policy around sentencing. My job is to look in a particular case and decide what the particular penalty should be, in the range that Congress prescribes,” she said.
Watch video of the exchange below.
Josh Marcus 23 March 2022 01:25
1647997257 Ketanji Brown Jackson on restrictions she follows when passing sentences
Repeatedly pressed by Sen Ted Cruz about her sentencing decisions on several child pornography cases, Ketanji Brown Jackson appeared to insinuate that Mr Cruz was deliberately leaving out context that contributed to her rulings.
She told the senator: "Congress is the body that tells sentencing judges what they are supposed to look at, and Congress has said that a judge is not playing a numbers game."
The pointed remark came after Mr Cruz criticised her for departing from sentencing requests from prosecutors, which she reminded him was not the only factor she was supposed to consider.
“In every case, I did my duty to hold the defendants accountable in light of the evidence and the information that was presented to me,” she said.
Josh Marcus 23 March 2022 01:00
1647996048 ICMYI: Jimmy Kimmel teases Republicans over Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmation hearings
Jimmy Kimmel has teased the Republicans over the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson that began on Monday (21 March).
On his late-night show Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the host joked that the hearings “give a number of our Republican senators a chance to compete in one of their favourite events: the subtle racism jamboree”.
Kimmel specifically called out South Carolina’s Senator Lindsey Graham, saying that the politician “expects to be called racist at these hearings”.
He then shared a clip of Graham’s “interesting” speech at the hearings, in which he expressly stated that nobody is going to equate Judge Jackson to Bill Cosby like Justice Brett Kavanaugh was.
“Um thanks, I guess,” Kimmel responded.
Inga Parkel has the story.
Jimmy Kimmel teases Republicans over Ketanji Brown Jackson Talk show host called the hearings ‘the subtle racism jamboree’
Josh Marcus 23 March 2022 00:40
1647994227 US Senator who said SCOTUS should not have legalised interracial marriage says he ‘misunderstood’ question
US Senator Mike Braun has walked back his claim that the Supreme Court should not have legalised interracial marriage, saying he “misunderstood” the question he was asked.
The Republican from Indiana made the comment when asked about some of the Supreme Court’s biggest decisions, such as Roe v Wade and whether those issues should be left to states.
“Earlier during a virtual press conference I misunderstood a line of questioning that ended up being about interracial marriage, let me be clear on that issue — there is no question the Constitution prohibits discrimination of any kind based on race, that is not something that is even up for debate, and I condemn racism in any form, at all levels and by any states, entities, or individuals,” he said in a statement on Tuesday evening.
Graeme Massie is tracking this story for The Independent.
US senator says he ‘misunderstood’ interracial marriage question The Republican is a noted states’ rights advocate
Josh Marcus 23 March 2022 00:10
1647994222 US Senator who said SCOTUS should not have legalised interracial marriage says he ‘misunderstood’ question
US Senator Mike Braun has walked back his claim that the Supreme Court should not have legalised interracial marriage, saying he “misunderstood” the question he was asked.
The Republican from Indiana made the comment when asked about some of the Supreme Court’s biggest decisions, such as Roe v Wade and whether those issues should be left to states.
“Earlier during a virtual press conference I misunderstood a line of questioning that ended up being about interracial marriage, let me be clear on that issue — there is no question the Constitution prohibits discrimination of any kind based on race, that is not something that is even up for debate, and I condemn racism in any form, at all levels and by any states, entities, or individuals,” he said in a statement on Tuesday evening.
Graeme Massie is tracking this story for The Independent.
US senator says he ‘misunderstood’ interracial marriage question The Republican is a noted states’ rights advocate
Josh Marcus 23 March 2022 00:10
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