The US Senate Judiciary Committee started a series of hearings for the confirmation of Judge Jackson to the Supreme Court…reports Asian Lite News
President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson has defended her record as a judge against Republican assertions on her being sympathetic to people committing sex crimes against minors, particularly in sentencing child pornography cases, media reported.
Republican senators Josh Hawley, Mike Lee, Tom Cotton and Ted Cruz asserted that she was soft on crime and declared she would rule as an “independent jurist” if confirmed as the first Black woman on the high court.
The US Senate Judiciary Committee started a series of hearings for the confirmation of Judge Jackson to the Supreme Court.
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Fielding questions from Republicans on a variety of “culture war” issues on the second day of hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Jackson said she considered women’s right to abortion settled law but declined to offer a view on same-sex marriage.
She stressed her backing for free speech protections for all Americans, and said the ability to bear arms is a “fundamental right” guaranteed by the US Constitution.
In a marathon day and evening of questioning that lasted more than 13 hours, Republicans aggressively pressed Jackson on the sentences she has handed down to sex offenders in her nine years as a federal judge, her advocacy on behalf of terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, her thoughts on critical race theory and even her religious views, it was reported.
Meanwhile, in his opening statements on Monday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin highlighted Jackson’s qualifications, as well as the historic nature of her nomination by President Joe Biden, reports Xinhua news agency.
“President Biden nominated you because he knew your qualifications are outstanding,” the Illinois Democrat said.
“Your professional record and life experience tell us what kind of lawyer, what kind of judge, and what kind of person you really are.”
The 51-year-old Jackson, who currently sits on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, would be the first African-American woman to sit on the Supreme Court if confirmed.
“In its more than 230 years, the Supreme Court has had 115 Justices,” Durbin continued. “Not a single Justice has been a Black woman. You, Judge Jackson, can be the first.”
Biden announced in late February he would nominate Jackson to succeed liberal Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who is about to retire this summer.
It was one of his major campaign promises to fill a potential Supreme Court vacancy with an African-American woman.
“As Judge Jackson begins her Supreme Court confirmation hearings this week, I look forward to the Senate and country seeing how incredibly qualified she is for the job,” the President tweeted on Monday.
“She’s a brilliant legal mind with the utmost character and integrity. I know she’ll make an exceptional Justice.”
Born in Washington D.C. but raised in Miami, Jackson received her law degree from Harvard University and graduated cum laude in 1996.
Earlier in her legal career, she worked as an assistant federal public defender in D.C. and served as vice chair of the US Sentencing Commission for four years.
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