{"id":1392464,"date":"2022-03-21T16:30:09","date_gmt":"2022-03-21T20:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1392464"},"modified":"2022-03-21T16:30:54","modified_gmt":"2022-03-21T20:30:54","slug":"senators-signal-three-issues-that-will-define-the-ketanji-brown-jackson-hearings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senators-signal-three-issues-that-will-define-the-ketanji-brown-jackson-hearings\/","title":{"rendered":"Senators Signal Three Issues That Will Define The Ketanji Brown Jackson Hearings"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsenators-signal-three-issues-that-will-define-the-ketanji-brown-jackson-hearings%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1392464&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Senators are signaling that they will home in on personal background, criminal sentencing, and court-packing during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.<\/p>\n<p>Jackson, <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/02\/25\/joe-biden-ketanji-brown-jackson-supreme-court-nominee\/\">nominated<\/a> to replace retiring Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, was first appointed to the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C., in 2013 by President Barack Obama. President Joe Biden elevated her to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2021, with Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joining all 50 Democrats in voting to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/nomination\/117th-congress\/391\">confirm<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>All 22 senators on the Judiciary Committee, including Graham, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EdWhelanEPPC\/status\/1505916857437634570\">received<\/a> 10 minutes to make opening statements Monday. Jackson herself spoke shortly after 3:30 p.m., emphasizing that as a Supreme Court Justice she would \u201cwork productively to protect and defend the Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have been a judge for nearly a decade now, and I take that responsibility and my duty to be independent very seriously,\u201d she said. \u201cI decide cases from a neutral posture. I evaluate the facts, and I interpret and apply the law to the facts of the case before me without fear or favor, consistent with my judicial oath.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During pre-hearing remarks and opening statements, Democratic senators emphasized Jackson\u2019s personal background and the fact that she would be the first female black justice on the Court. Senators from both parties discussed criticisms that Jackson has been too willing to issue lenient sentences for criminals, including consumers of child pornography, and Democrats\u2019 views on court-packing and previous nominations.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7395260\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7395260\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 MARCH 21: Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) delivers remarks during the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill March 21, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Personal Background<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If confirmed, Jackson would become the first black female Supreme Court justice. However, she would also be one of four justices to graduate from Harvard Law School, and one of eight justices to graduate from an Ivy League law school. Biden administration allies like South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, as well as Graham, <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Lifestyle\/wireStory\/supreme-court-covered-ivy-lawmakers-82596061\">suggested<\/a> before Biden nominated Jackson that they would prefer a candidate like District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs, who attended the University of South Carolina Law School.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve got to recognize that people come from all walks of life, and we ought not dismiss anyone because of that,\u201d Clyburn said in January, expressing concern that the Court is becoming an \u201celite society.\u201d <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/01\/26\/joe-biden-supreme-court-nominee-black-woman\/\">(RELATED: Biden Pledged To Nominate A Black Woman To The Supreme Court. Who Will He Pick?)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who also sits on the Judiciary Committee, said that Jackson\u2019s record is difficult for senators to parse because many judges with her background deliberately keep their views vague. Cruz and Jackson both attended Harvard Law School in the mid-1990s, with Cruz graduating in 1995 and Jackson in 1996.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHer record was hard to get a handle on,\u201d Cruz <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/bO1lmKJo9No?t=2702\">told<\/a> the Daily Caller\u2019s Vince Coglianese and Jason Nichols of his experience reviewing Jackson\u2019s nomination to the DC Circuit. \u201cShe in some ways reminds me of Chief Justice John Roberts, who\u2019s someone, also, I\u2019ve also known 25 years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJohn lives his whole life very, very careful, not saying anything that could be used to defeat his Supreme Court nomination. And I think Ketanji, similarly, has been careful in what she has said, not to have a public record that would leave her vulnerable in a confirmation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Criminal Sentencing and Child Pornography<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Obama nominated Jackson to serve as vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, a position she served in from 2010 to 2014. During her time on the Commission, Jackson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/courts_law\/ketanji-brown-jackson-uncle-prison\/2022\/01\/30\/669c5f68-8116-11ec-bf02-f9e24ccef149_story.html\">recommended<\/a> that it reduce sentencing guidelines for federal drug charges, and voted to make the reduction retroactive. She also served as a federal public defender.<\/p>\n<p>Jackson has the support of the Fraternal Order of Police, which noted her family\u2019s law enforcement background in its <a href=\"https:\/\/fop.net\/2022\/02\/fop-national-president-patrick-yoes-statement-on-nomination-of-ketanji-brown-jackson-to-scotus\/\">endorsement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Some Republicans are expected to zero in on Jackson\u2019s sentencing decisions in several cases related to the possession of child pornography. Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, referencing 10 cases in which Jackson departed from federal sentencing guidelines, voiced his <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/03\/17\/alarming-pattern-josh-hawley-supreme-court-nominee-ketanji-brown-jackson-record-child-porn\/\">concern<\/a> that a record like Jackson\u2019s \u201cendangers our children.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7395034\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7395034\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7395034\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/hawley-brown-jackson-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/hawley-brown-jackson-scaled.jpg 7865w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/hawley-brown-jackson-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/hawley-brown-jackson-620x413-1.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/hawley-brown-jackson-768x512-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/hawley-brown-jackson-1536x1024-1.jpg 1536w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7395034\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 MARCH 9: (L-R) Supreme Court Nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) stand before meeting in Hawley\u2019s office on Capitol Hill March 9, 2022 in Washington, DC. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson continued to meet with Senate members on Capitol Hill ahead of her confirmation hearings. (Photo by Drew Angerer\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cOn average, you sentence child-porn defendants to over five years below the minimum sentence recommended by the Sentencing Guidelines. And you have stated publicly that it is a \u2018mistake\u2019 to \u2018assume that child pornography offenders are pedophiles.\u2019 Your philosophy, it appears, is backward on these issues. Restrictions for children and families and freedom for criminals,\u201d Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn said in her opening remarks.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats and some conservatives have pushed back on that characterization.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not soft on porn to call for sensible line-drawing. Plenty of hard-nosed prosecutors and Republican-appointed judges have long believed that this mandatory minimum is too draconian,\u201d National Review\u2019s Andrew McCarthy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2022\/03\/senator-hawleys-disingenuous-attack-against-judge-jacksons-record-on-child-pornography\/\">wrote<\/a> in a column referenced by committee chairman Dick Durbin.<\/p>\n<p>Durbin called the soft-on-crime claims from Hawley and other Republicans \u201cbaseless\u201d and \u201cunfair.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey fly in the face of pledges my colleagues made that they would approach your nomination with civility and respect,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Court-Packing<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Many left-wing activists, and some Democratic senators, have called for Congress to expand the size of the Supreme Court to give liberals a majority in the body. While the late Associate Justice Ruth Bader <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2019\/07\/24\/ruth-bader-ginsburg-court-packing\/\">Ginsburg<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/09\/10\/stephen-breyer-court-packing-goes-around-comes-around\/\">Breyer<\/a> publicly criticized court-packing efforts, Jackson reportedly <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/598942-mcconnell-hasnt-made-a-final-decision-on-confirming-ketanji-brown-jackson\">declined<\/a> to offer an opinion on such a move during her meeting with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoth of these liberal lions said that expanding the Supreme Court to achieve favored legal and political outcomes is a dangerous idea,\u201d Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton said in his opening remarks. \u201cBut for some, political outcomes on the Court are exactly their goal.\u201d <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2020\/10\/18\/chris-coons-not-fan-court-packing-open-to-it\/\">(RELATED: Chris Coons Is \u2018Not A Fan Of Court Packing,\u2019 But He\u2019s Open To It If Amy Coney Barrett Is Confirmed)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy expressed concern that court-packing would harm the legitimacy of the Court.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnfortunately, throughout history, we\u2019ve had people who tried to delegitimize the Supreme Court. We had a president way back when who tried to impeach a Supreme Court justice,\u201d Kennedy said, in an apparent reference to the 1805 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/impeachment\/impeachment-chase.htm\">impeachment<\/a> of Samuel Chase. \u201cWe had another president who wanted to pack the court.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost of the people who want to delegitimize the Supreme Court believe that members of the Supreme Court ought to be, and are, politicians in robes. They believe that the U.S. Supreme Court ought to be a mini-Congress. They believe that the law is not the law,\u201d he continued. \u201cThey believe in court-packing, and they are wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senators are signaling that they will home in on personal background, criminal sentencing, and court-packing during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.Jackson, nominated to replace retiring<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1392464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1392464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1392464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1392464\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1392464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1392464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1392464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}