African-American magistrate Ketanji Brown Jackson vigorously defended herself on Tuesday against accusations of laxity towards pedophiles brought by elected Republicans during the examination of her historic candidacy for the Supreme Court.
After several hours of rather polite interrogation before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Republican Ted Cruz accused her frontally of having, throughout her career, “advocated for sexual predators”.
He assured that she had, as a judge, “pronounced sentences lower than the requisitions in 100% of the child pornography files” which were submitted to her.
“As a mother, these cases horrified me” and “I still sometimes have nightmares about it”, she retorted, letting a hint of emotion show for the first time. “I have always treated them very seriously, like all the other crimes that have been submitted to me,” she added.
Coming to her aid, the elected Democrat Chris Coons cited cases in which she handed down sentences of 10 or 20 years in prison, demanded by the prosecutors, and recalled that at the national level, 70% of the sentences handed down in these cases were below the scales.
This pass of arms, in a rather purring hearing, should not derail the candidacy of Judge Jackson.
Appointed by President Joe Biden to the Supreme Court, this brilliant 51-year-old jurist must obtain the green light from the Senate before becoming the first black woman to sit on the highest court in the country.
Unless surprised, she should obtain sufficient votes during a vote in plenary session at the beginning of April and replace the progressive judge Stephen Breyer at the start of the school year.
According to a Politico-Morning Consult poll, 47% of Americans want it confirmed and only 19% oppose it.
critical race theory
Beyond the symbol, his arrival will not change the balance within the temple of American law, where the conservatives will keep a solid majority of six seats out of nine.
For all these reasons, most elected Republicans do not fight fiercely to counter his candidacy.
But those with presidential ambitions have used his hearing to echo their favorite themes.
Beyond his slap on pedophiles, Ted Cruz also hinted that Judge Jackson supports “critical race theory.” In the minds of conservatives, this theory is taught in school and forces white children to see themselves as oppressors and black children as victims.
“It’s a university theory that analyzes racism at the institutional level” and “is only taught in my opinion in law school”, she retorted. “But I’ve never studied it or used it in my work as a judge and I won’t if I’m confirmed to the Supreme Court. »
Other elected Republicans have criticized her for having defended Guantánamo detainees or hardened criminals when she was a lawyer in the legal aid services in Washington from 2005 to 2007. In the United States, all accused have the right to a lawyer , she replied: “it’s what makes us great”.
“Members of my family are in the line of fire, so I am very attached to public safety,” she also said, recalling that her brother and two of her uncles were or had been police officers.
“Leftists”
Saying he was “troubled” by the fact that several “leftist associations” support her candidacy, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham asked her if she was “activist”.
“No,” she retorted. “I do not import my personal views or my preferences” in my decisions, she hammered on several occasions.
On political subjects, in accordance with custom, she was evasive.
In particular, she refused to comment on the calls, made by several elected officials and left-wing associations, to create new seats within the Supreme Court to dilute the influence of conservative magistrates. “In my opinion, judges should not talk about politics. »