Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson finished three days of confirmation hearings on Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. If confirmed, she will be the first Black woman and the first former public defender to serve on the nation’s highest court. Republican members pressed Jackson about her judicial philosophy and views on critical race theory, and some attacked her sentencing record in child pornography cases, attempting to portray her as lenient on crime.

This hour, we’ll discuss Judge Jackson’s testimony, the questions and issues raised by Senators, the underlying politics involved and how Judge Jackson could ultimately impact the Supreme Court.

Guests

Kimberly Mutcherson, Co-Dean and Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School in Camden. @professormutch

Dahlia Lithwick, writes about the courts and the law for Slate and hosts the podcast Amicus. @dahlialithwick

Read more

Slate, hearings-ketanji-brown-jackson-ted-cruz-politics.html">Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Biggest Strength and Greatest Weakness – Confronted time and again with tired and outdated questions about whether she is a “judicial activist” or “living constitutionalist,” she pivots to explain that she doesn’t so much have a judicial philosophy as a judicial “methodology.”

The New York Times, brown-jackson-supreme-court.html">As a Public Defender, Supreme Court Nominee Helped Clients Others Avoided -Ambitious lawyers usually become prosecutors. Ketanji Brown Jackson worked on behalf of criminal defendants and Guantánamo detainees.

The Washington Post, How Ketanji Brown Jackson’s path to the Supreme Court differs from the current justices