Supreme Court pick Ketanji Brown Jackson defends record in Senate confirmation hearing

Republicans, meanwhile, suggested that the advocacy of Jackson’s candidacy by so-called dark money political groups undercut her candidacy.

GOP senators also revived complaints of how Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was treated by their Democratic counterparts during his confirmation hearings after a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her when they were high school students in the 1980s.

One of the most direct lines of attack came from Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., who suggested Jackson had given too-lenient criminal sentences in some child-pornography cases she oversaw as a district court judge.

Durbin and other Democrats in response quoted a conservative columnist who had called Hawley’s argument “meritless to the point of demagoguery.”

Jackson on Monday afternoon appeared to tailor her remarks toward her conservative skeptics, who have long railed against what they see as the high court expanding its power and influence beyond the narrow bounds set under the law.

“I know that my role as a judge is a limited one, that the Constitution empowers me only to decide cases and controversies that are properly presented,” Jackson said. “And I know that my judicial role is further constrained by careful adherence to precedent.”

She also drew attention to her work as a public defender, a piece of her resume praised by Democrats who say Jackson’s experience will bring much-needed perspective to the Supreme Court. Jackson would become the first former public defender to serve on the top U.S. bench.

“Now, in preparing for these hearings you may have read some of my more than 570 written decisions, and you may have also noticed that my opinions tend to be on the long side,” she said.

“That is because I also believe in transparency, that people should know precisely what I think and the basis for my decision,” Jackson continued. “And all of my professional experiences, including my work as a public defender and as a trial judge, have instilled in me the importance of having each litigant know that the judge in their case has heard them, whether or hot their arguments prevail in court.”

Monday’s session at the Judiciary Committee comes a day after the Supreme Court disclosed that its longest serving justice, Clarence Thomas, had been hospitalized on Friday with an infection.

If confirmed, Jackson would succeed Justice Stephen Breyer, who is retiring. Her confirmation would replace one liberal justice with another, maintaining the court’s 6-3 conservative majority.

President Joe Biden nominated Jackson to the Supreme Court in February.

Jackson has served on the D.C. Circuit appeals court, the nation’s highest-profile appeals court, since last year. She won Senate confirmation with support from every Democrat and three Republicans.

To join the Supreme Court, Jackson will need at least 50 votes in the evenly split Senate. Vice President Kamala Harris holds a tie-breaking vote for her fellow Democrats and the two independents who routinely vote with the party.

No Democrats so far have indicated they will vote against Jackson.

— CNBC’s Jacob Pramuk contributed to this report.

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/21/biden-supreme-court-nominee-ketanji-brown-jackson-senate-confirmation-hearings.html