The second day of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Sabbath in the US Congress has been marked by tough questions asked by Republican senators. The Supreme Court nominee was asked on Tuesday (22) about her positions on abortion, religion, child pornography and the Guantánamo prison.
Jackson, 51, is the first black woman to be named to the highest court in the US. Appointed by President Joe Biden in February, she needs to be confirmed by the Senate. Democrats are in a position to pass it in the House without opposition support.
Tuesday’s hearing began in the morning and continues into the afternoon. Republican senators asked pointed questions about topics dear to conservatives, such as fighting crime and abortion.
On this last issue, Jackson replied that he considers the issue as something established, and defended the maintenance of previous decisions. “Roe and Casey are the settled laws of the Supreme Court regarding a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy,” she said, citing Roe v Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v Casey (1992). The first allowed abortion in the country, and the second confirmed the position, placing some conditions.
In recent years, several US states have passed laws to restrict abortion. The Supreme Court analyzes one of these prohibitions and, based on it, may change the understanding on the issue, which may pave the way for vetoing abortion.
Jackson’s speech was similar to that of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who also said he considered abortion to be settled law, in his 2018 hearing. However, in December 2021, as a member of the Supreme Court, he stated that the Constitution does not address abortion, in a sign that the understanding of the topic can be revised.
Jackson rejected the accusation made by Republican Senator Josh Hawley that he was lenient with cases involving child pornography, having given shorter-than-standard sentences in some cases. “When dealing with things like that, it’s important for me to be sure from the children’s perspective,” she said, citing cases of pedophile victims who later had problems with drugs and prostitution and were never able to establish healthy relationships afterwards.
In recent days, Hawley has publicly questioned Jackson for having given sentences less than the mandates stipulated by the US Sentence Commission, a federal body that makes recommendations to judges on how to hand out sentences. He said the judge has a pattern of “making it easy for those accused of child pornography, both as a judge and as a policymaker.”
Republican Senator Ted Cruz took up the topic in the afternoon and showed a poster comparing the sentences given by Jackson to the recommended periods, to emphasize that she was more lenient than she should have been.
“Congress has already said that judges are not in a numbers game. A judge makes a decision based on a number of different considerations. And in each case, I have fulfilled my duty to hold defendants accountable in light of the evidence and information presented to me,” he replied. “And the evidence in these cases [de pornografia infantil] were egregious, they are among the worst I have ever seen.”
Another Republican, Senator Lindsey Graham, insisted on asking her about her religion. “I’m a non-denominational Protestant. My faith is very important, but as you know, there is no religious test in the Constitution,” Jackson replied. “It’s very important to set aside personal views when doing work.”
He insisted. “On a scale of 0 to 10, how faithful are you?” Jackson responded that he was reluctant to speak of his faith in this way, “because I am aware of the public’s need to trust my ability to separate my personal views.”
Graham said he only insisted on religious issues to point out that Amy Coney Barrett, named to the Supreme Court by Donald Trump in 2020, was criticized for being Catholic.
Asked by Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy what she would say to critics who say she is often light on crime, she cited that her brother and two uncles worked as police officers.
“I know what it’s like to have loved ones who go out to protect and serve, and the fear of not knowing if they will return home because of crime. Crime, its effects on the community and the need to enforce the law are not abstract concepts. for me,” he replied. “To have a functioning society, we need to have people held accountable for committing crimes, but we have to do it fairly, under our Constitution,” she said.
Asked for having defended accused terrorists who were being held at Guantanamo while acting as a public defender, Jackson said that professionals in the field do not choose their clients. And that giving terrorist suspects a proper due process was a way of showing that the attacks could not change the foundations that define the United States.
“The people who were being accused by our government were entitled to representation under our Constitution. [Agir assim] is what makes our system the best in the world,” he said.
The judge also avoided commenting on the possibility of increasing the number of judges on the court, considering that it is a political issue, which is not up to the members of the Judiciary to take a stand. She also said that defending the right to freedom of expression must be guaranteed to everyone equally, whether conservative or liberal. And that the right to bear arms is considered fundamental by the Constitution, as the Supreme Court has reaffirmed on other occasions.
Jackson’s Sabbath should last until Thursday (24). Then the senators will have to vote to confirm or not the nomination. Democrats want the process to be completed by early April, before the Easter break.
Currently, the Supreme Court is made up of six justices with a conservative profile and three with a liberal profile. Even if confirmed, Jackson will not change this scenario, as he will take the place of Stephen Breyer, who asked for retirement.
WHO IS WHO IN THE SUPREME COURT
conservative wing
John Roberts67
Nominated by George W. Bush in 2005. Although considered conservative, the current president of the Court sometimes acts in a moderate way
Clarence Thomas73
Nominated by George Bush in 1991
Samuel Alito71
Nominated by George W. Bush in 2006
Neil Gorsuch54
Nominated by Donald Trump in 2017
Brett Kavanaugh57
Nominated by Trump in 2018
Amy Coney Barrett50
Nominated by Trump in 2020
progressive wing
Stephen Breyer83 (retiring this year)
Nominated by Bill Clinton in 1994
Sonia Sotomayor, 67
Nominated by Barack Obama in 2009
Elena Kagan, 61
Nominated by Obama in 2010
