KBJ Confirmed to Supreme Court
On Thursday, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed to serve as the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by a vote of 53-47. She will replace Justice Stephen Breyer and be the first Black woman to serve on the Court.
Read moreKBJ Receives Tie Vote from Senate Judiciary Committee
Earlier today, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's nomination to the Supreme Court received a tie vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee. No Republicans voted in favor of the nomination.
Read moreNews -- In a party-line vote, Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocks 11-11 on the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to SCOTUS.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 4, 2022
Next up: A vote tonight to discharge the nomination by full Senate. Simple majority is needed
Cloture vote: Thursday
Confirmation: Thursday or Friday
Senate Judiciary Wraps Up KBJ Hearings - Join RNLA for a Recap
On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee wrapped up confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court. Join RNLA this Friday at 2:00 p.m. ET for a webinar recapping the week of hearings featuring the Article III Project's Mike Davis and the Ethics and Public Policy Center's Ed Whelan. Register on Zoom here!
Read moreTakeaways from Day 3 of KBJ's Confirmation Hearings
On Wednesday, Americans across the country tuned in to day three of the Senate Judiciary Committee's Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. While many of the same topics previously discussed were raised again, there were some clear takeaways from the 10+ hours of discussion between the Committee and Judge Jackson.
Read moreJudge Jackson: “There Were No Victims”
In 17 years of closely watching Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson had the worst second day performance of anyone I have watched when she contradicted herself multiple times during questioning. It also became clear that she is soft on crime, not in some sort of abstract way, but she is overly sympathetic to criminals to the detriment of victims.
1. Judge Jackson stated: “There were no victims” regarding the sentencing of a fentanyl and heroin drug kingpin. While Judge Jackson did add later that were no victims available to testify, as Senator Cotton pointed out, there are definitely victims of a drug kingpin. However, Judge Jackson still twisted a compassionate release statue to reduce the sentence of this drug kingpin.
Asked if she reached out to any of the victims of a heroin trafficker, Ketanji Brown Jackson dismisses the question by saying “there were no victims” pic.twitter.com/FU0SOCLZRX
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 22, 2022
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In Contrast to Democrats, GOP Signals Respectful Questioning for KBJ Hearing
On Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee wrapped up the first day of Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. From the start of the hearing, it became clear that the atmosphere of the hearings would be night and day from the hearings for former President Trump's nominees to the Court (Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, and Neil Gorsuch). Ranking Member Chuck Grassley explained during his opening statement:
We will conduct a thorough, exhaustive examination of Judge Jackson’s record and views. We won’t try to turn this into a spectacle based on alleged process fouls. On that front, we’re off to a good start. Unlike the start to the Kavanaugh hearings, we didn’t have repeated, choreographed interruptions of Chairman Durbin during his opening statement like Democrats interrupted me for more than an hour during my opening statement at the Kavanaugh hearing.
Read morePolitically-Charged KBJ Opinion Boosted "Dark Money" Support
Since the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court, we've heard about the extensive support she has received from leftist "dark money" groups like Demand Justice. But where did this support originate? Earlier today, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell explained how a "politically charged" opinion she issued while serving as a District Court judge seems to have boosted her profile with the "dark money" Left:
“Before the 2020 election, one far-left dark-money group put Judge Jackson on their Supreme Court shortlist.
“Well, not at first. She was left off their first version. But shortly thereafter, the Judge published a fiery 118-page opinion in a politically-charged case that won attention and praise from liberal pundits.
Read moreThe Left Attacks Justice Thomas While Ignoring Problems with Jackson's Nomination
The Left's latest attack on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has gone too far... again. This time, they are joining forces with the media to question the integrity of Justice Thomas because of his wife's involvement in political activities. Mark Paoletta writes for Newsweek:
The legacy corporate media has launched an unprecedented smear campaign against Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, Ginni, falsely claiming that Justice Thomas is violating ethics laws in light of his wife's political activities. Some have even advocated impeaching Justice Thomas for failing to recuse. They are, in effect, demanding a new standard for recusal that has no place in the law or in past practice.
Read moreSCOTUS: Biden's Missed Opportunity to Bring the Country Together
During his campaign, President Biden assured the American people that he would do whatever he could to unite the country. In today's uncertain times, that promise is even more poignant. Biden missed a major opportunity to bring the country together when he made his pick to replace Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court. As Republican Senator Lindsey Graham explained, President Biden had the option to replace Justice Breyer with someone from his own shortlist who had the potential to receive true bipartisan support, District Court Judge Michelle Childs:
“Here’s the point: I was willing to get probably double-digit Republican support for somebody that would have been in the liberal camp from my state,” he added, referring to Childs. “So they made a political decision to reject bipartisanship and go another way.”
Read moreWill Brown Jackson's Nomination Help Shine a Spotlight on Rising Anti-Asian Discrimination in Education?
The nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court has raised questions about her ability to objectively rule on an affirmative action case coming before the Court during the 2022-2021 term involving Harvard University where she serves as a member of the board of overseers:
After Justice Stephen Breyer retires from the bench later this year, the Supreme Court is poised to hear arguments this fall in one of the most significant cases before the court regarding race-based admissions policies at Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. If the Senate does confirm Jackson to succeed Breyer, her involvement on Harvard's board of overseers would raise questions regarding the Judicial Code of Conduct, which instructs judges to "avoid even the appearance of conflicts or bias," Turley wrote in an op-ed for the Hill on Tuesday.
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