The US Senate Judiciary Committee begins confirmation hearings Monday for Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who would be the first black woman on the Supreme Court.
Barring a significant misstep by Jackson, 51, a federal judge for the past nine years, the Democrats who control the Senate by a slim margin intend to wrap up her confirmation before Easter, April 17.
Jackson is expected to deliver an opening statement Monday afternoon and then take questions from the 11 Democrats and 11 Republicans on the committee over the next two days. It will be introduced by Thomas B. Griffith, a retired judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and Lisa M. Fairfax, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law.
Jackson appeared before the same commission last year, after President Joe Biden chose her to fill a vacancy on the federal appeals court in Washington, just down the hill from the Supreme Court.
Her testimony will give most Americans, as well as the Senate, their longest look yet at the Harvard-trained attorney with a resume that includes two years as a federal public defender. That makes her the first candidate with significant criminal defense experience since Thurgood Marshall, the first black American to serve on the nation’s highest court.
In addition to being the first black woman on the Supreme Court, Jackson would be the third black justice, after Marshall and his successor, Justice Clarence Thomas.
The American Bar Association, which evaluates judicial nominees, gave Jackson’s its highest rating on Friday, unanimously “well rated.”
Janette McCarthy Wallace, general counsel for the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), said she is excited to see a black woman on the verge of a high court seat.
“Representation matters,” Wallace said. “Having a diverse experience on the bench is essential. It should reflect the rich cultural diversity of this country.”
It is not yet clear how aggressive Republicans will be after Jackson, since his confirmation would not upset the court’s 6-3 conservative majority.
Still, some Republicans have signaled they could use Jackson’s nomination to try to brand Democrats as soft on crime, an emerging theme in the GOP’s midterm election campaigns. Biden has chosen several former public defenders for lifetime judicial positions. Additionally, Jackson served on the United States Sentencing Commission, an independent agency created by Congress to reduce the disparity in federal prison sentencing.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, outlined a possible line of attack. “I have noticed an alarming pattern when it comes to Judge Jackson’s treatment of sex offenders, especially those who prey on children,” Hawley wrote on Twitter last week in a thread echoed by the National Committee. Republican. Hawley did not raise the issue when he questioned Jackson last year before voting against her confirmation in the appeals court.
[Con información de The Associated Press]
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