Senate Republicans Object to Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Record

When the president nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to fill Justice Stephen Breyer’s seat on the Supreme Court, and everybody was grooving on the possibility of a smooth confirmation process, I remember warning the regulars here at the shebeen that the Republicans in the Senate, and particularly the ones on the Senate Judiciary Committee, were guaranteed to take the process down into the muck if only for performance’s sake and B-roll for future campaign ads. Come on down, Senator Josh Hawley (R-Gehenna). From The New York Times:

Republicans on the Judiciary Committee have almost uniformly opposed the confirmation of public defenders. As they prepare for the Jackson hearings, G.O.P. senators say past work experience is fair game, even though the defenders may have been court-appointed in many cases to represent indigent defendants. “Like any attorney who has been in any kind of practice, they are going to have to answer for the clients they represented and the arguments they made,” Mr. Hawley said.

And it’s not just Hawley. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is thumping this tub as well, and the Republican caucus seems prepared to thump along in unison. From Politico:

The subject was first raised publicly by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) Wednesday evening and within hours POLITICO obtained a copy of a background document Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee were circulating on the topic. The suggestion that Jackson was sympathetic to sex offenders received immediate pushback from Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin and the Biden White House on Thursday, who derided the attacks as “outrageous” and lacking context.

Surely, nobody can argue that a nominee’s record ought not to be scrutinized strictly, but it’s been clear for years that a big part of the Republican law-and-order litany is to marginalize and demonize the defense bar. (This noxious exercise even was mustered against Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2016.) And public defenders are a particular target since they’re often paid with public money and “Your tax dollars are helping defend monsters” is an irresistible attack line for politicians predisposed to feeling that way anyway, especially the vast battalions of former prosecutors in public office.

Hawley states that, in a series of criminal cases that came before Jackson during her eight years on the district court in Washington, she sentenced child pornography offenders to prison sentences below what federal sentencing guidelines recommended. For more than a decade, criminal justice reform advocates and many federal judges have complained publicly that—in part due to advances in technology—those guidelines are too harsh in cases involving only receipt or sharing of child pornography materials.

And it isn’t just about sex offenders with the Republicans, either.

Once Jackson’s hearings begin, Republicans are also indicating they plan to ask Jackson about her representation of Guantanamo detainees as a public defender, as well as briefs she filed in private practice against former President George W. Bush’s detention policies. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in an interview with conservative talk radio show host Hugh Hewitt that Jackson is “highly likely” to be confirmed. But he also suggested in his floor remarks Thursday that her record as a public defender will be a significant focal point. “Her supporters look at her resume and deduce a special empathy for criminals,” McConnell said.

Try as you might, I defy you to find a supporter of Judge Jackson who supports her because of her “special empathy for criminals.” McConnell has sounded the call for ruthless slander. I hope Judge Jackson thinks this gig is worth the hassle.

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