Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson issued a passionate defense of her history of sentencing child porn offenders as Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin gave the Supreme Court nominee a chance to address Republican criticism claiming she is too soft on these crimes.
The Democratic senator from Illinois was teeing up a defense for Jackson by allowing her to address the child pornography cases, as well as her judicial philosophy and the issue if court packing.
Jackson would not give a commitment on where she fell on the issue of adding seats to the Supreme Court, which is widely opposed by Republicans. The nominee said she agreed with conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett that nominees should not share perspectives on politically charged matters, especially when at the nominee level.
‘I am not importing my personal views or policy preferences,’ she ensured.
Durbin said at the start of the second day of Jackson’s confirmation hearing on Tuesday: ‘The issue involving child pornography – I want to turn to that issue because it was raised multiple times primarily by the Senator from Missouri and he was questioning your sentencing record in child pornography cases.’
He asked Jackson how she felt knowing that her children, husband and the world heard Republican Senator Josh Hawley accuse her of endangering children with the sentencing of child pornography offenders.
‘As a mother and a judge who has had to deal with these cases, I was thinking that nothing could be further from the truth,’ Jackson replied.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson passionately defended her record in sentencing child porn offenders during the second day of her confirmation hearing on Tuesday
While appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee for the first day of questioning from the 22 members, Jackson said that she would not say whether she supports court packing. ‘I am not importing my personal views or policy preferences,’ she ensured
Republican Senator Josh Hawley issued an opening statement Monday was critical of Jackson’s sentencing record of child pornography offenders. The Missouri senator arrived for the second day of hearings Tuesday where he is expected to rail Jackson on the topic
‘These are some of the most difficult cases that a judge has to deal with because we’re talking about pictures of sex abuse of children, we’re talking about graphic descriptions that judges have to read and consider when they decide how to sentence in these cases,’ she continued in an impassioned defense of her judicial record.
The otherwise calm and collected nominee showed emotion and passion when speaking on the topic, visibly shaking at some points, using larger arm movements than in other answers and articulating her words more fervently.
‘These people are looking at 20, 30, 40 years of supervision,’ she said of offenders. ‘They can’t use their computers in a normal way for decades. I am imposing all of those constraints because I understand how significant, how damaging, how horrible this crime is.’
‘I impose a significant sentence,’ Jackson assured, but said she is limited as a judge by what Congress has decided judges can do with cases.
She also said that as a judge, she is limited by what Congress has decided judges can do with cases.
‘There’s a statute that tells judges what they’re supposed to do,’ she detailed. ‘Congress has decided what it is that a judge has to do when this and any other cases when they sentence.’
‘And that statute doesn’t say ‘look only at the guidelines and stop’ the statute doesn’t say ‘impose the highest possible penalty for this sickening and egregious crime.’ The statute says, calculate the guidelines, but also look at various aspects of this offense and impose a sentence that is ‘sufficient but not greater than necessary to promote the purposes of punishment.’
She also said that precedent with sentencing in child pornography cases are outdated because they derrive from a time when there wasn’t the internet and it was based on the volume of images offenders would receive in the mail.
Jackson said the structure of the sentencing guideline is ‘not doing the work of differentiating who is a more serious offender in the way that it used to.’
Jackson arrived at the Capitol Tuesday morning for her first day of questioning from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee as a new poll emerged showing a large number of Americans are disconnected from the nominee and don’t care whether she is confirmed or not.
Of the 2,005 registered voters surveyed in a Politico/Morning Consult poll released Tuesday, 34 percent don’t care or have no opinion on if Jackson is confirmed to replace Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court.
It’s unknown yet if that perspective will shift following the nominees first day of yielding questions for senators, especially as the GOP signals they could have some aggressive lines of attack – including on Jackson’s record on sentencing in child porn cases.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson arrived at the Capitol for her second day of hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday
Republicans and independent voters are very indifferent on whether Jackson is confirmed to the Supreme Court with 41% and 43% having no opinion on her nomination, respectively
Seventy-five percent of voters who say they are Democrats want Jackson confirmed as the first black woman on the Supreme Court of the United States. Rather than the rest of Democrats really opposing Jackson, 20 percent are indifferent to her confirmation, while only 5 percent of Democrats oppose it.
Only 23 percent of Republican voters want President Joe Biden’s nominee confirmed.
Surprisingly, however, 41 percent of the GOP subsect don’t know whether they want her to ascend to the high court – and 43 percent of independents feel the same.
This could signal that Jackson is a ‘safe’ nominee since rather than opposition from Republicans and independents, she is met with complacency. It seems to be an odd place for the first ever black woman nominated to the Supreme Court to be sitting.
Figures from the recent poll, which was taken March 18-21, are similar to those from February as voters are more distracted with economic issues like inflation and gas prices than the Supreme Court nominee.
Biden’s nominee will face her first day of questioning on Tuesday from the panel, which will continue into Wednesday
During the first day of hearings on Monday, Jackson and all 22 members of the Senate Judiciary Committee delivered opening statements.
Jackson, 51, promised to be an independent jurist on the high court, deciding cases ‘without fear or favor’ and emphasizing neutrality on the bench as a way of preemptively fielding Republican criticism in the coming days.
‘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.’
Jackson has served as a federal appellate judge since last year following eight years as a federal district court judge.
She noted that her parents grew up in the era of racial segregation in the South but said they taught her ‘if I worked hard and believed in myself, in America I could do anything or be anything I wanted to be.’
Biden promised during his 2020 candidacy that he would nominate a black woman to the court if he had the opportunity, which Republicans slammed as a way of limiting the field of qualified candidates.
If confirmed, it will be the first time that four women and two black justices were on the bench.
Jackson would be the 116th justice to serve on the high court in its more than 200-year history, only the third ever black person and the first-ever black woman.
Jackson had her first day of confirmation hearings with the Judiciary Committee on Monday and made history by appearing before the panel as the first black woman nominated to the Supreme Court
With a 50-50 divided Senate, Democrats don’t need any Republicans support to get Jackson placed on the Supreme Court – as Vice President Kamala Harris would cast any tie-breaking vote.
But Democrats are hoping for a more bipartisan approach and are worried that if even one Democrat detracts, it could sink Jackson’s confirmation – an unlikely outcome at this juncture.
After full days of questioning on Tuesday and Wednesday, outside experts will testify on Jackson’s legal tenure and theory to the panel on Thursday.
Democrats are hoping to confirm Jackson by April 8, before a two week spring recess.
During Monday’s opening statements, Democrats hailed Biden’s historic selection and praised Jackson’s record as a federal appellate and district court judge.
Jackson will face two days of questioning from panel members on Tuesday and Wednesday. Pictured: The nominee departs with her husband Patrick Jackson (left) after the first day of her confirmation hearing Monday
Some Republicans promised respect and praised Jackson’s qualifications, but others attacked her record and sought to link her to advocacy groups on the left. Others tried to paint her as ‘soft on crime.’
‘I can only wonder: what’s your hidden agenda?’ asked Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee. ‘Is it to let violent criminals, cop killers and child predators back to the streets?’
Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, said attacks on Jackson’s approach to criminal justice issues are baseless and claimed it’s part of a Republican campaign theme for the November midterm elections.
Durbin, a Democrat, noted that law enforcement organizations including the Fraternal Order of Police have endorsed Jackson’s nomination.
The Senate has already confirmed Jackson to three other posts, most recently as last year when Biden nominated her to the D.C. Court of Appeals
Jackson was raised in Miami and is Harvard-educated. She was a clerk for Justice Breyer, whom she would be replacing as he announced his retirement earlier this year.
Her confirmation would not change the ideological balance of the Supreme Court but would lower the median age and bring a fresh liberal perspective to the bench.
The 6-3 conservative majority includes three justices appointed by Biden’s Republican predecessor Donald Trump.