Senate Judiciary Committee Releases Testimony from Majority's Outside Witnesses

WASHINGTON – Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee released testimony from the Majority’s outside witnesses on the final day of the Committee’s hearing on the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.  Testimony is provided below on behalf of the Honorable Joyce Beatty, United States House of Representatives, 3^rd District of Ohio; Ms. Risa Goluboff, Dean, Arnold H. Leon Professor of Law, and Professor of History, University of Virginia; Mr. Wade Henderson, President & CEO, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; Mr. Richard B. Rosenthal, friend and former classmate of Judge Jackson’s; and Captain Frederick Thomas, National President, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE).

Key quotes:

“The confirmation of Judge Jackson will send a message to Black women and little girls, like my granddaughter Leah. Leah’s mother, Judge Laurel Beatty Blunt, is the first Black woman to serve on the 10^th District Court of Appeals, and Leah’s first known president was a Black man. And now she sees a Black female Vice President—so if a guidance counselor tells her, ‘your goals are too high,’ she will remember today and how Judge Jackson soared against adversity as one our nation’s brightest legal minds.” – Rep. Joyce Beatty

“That Judge Jackson has represented clients across the spectrum from well-resourced corporations to the indigent and unpopular is testament not only to her robust embrace of every lawyer’s obligation to serve the public but also to her commitment to the rule of law in an adversarial system in which every party is entitled—and criminal defendants are constitutionally entitled—to zealous advocacy.” – Risa Goluboff

“As Dr. King said… ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.’ Today we must recognize that Judge Jackson's confirmation to the Supreme Court will bend that arc a little more. All of us who are impacted by the decisions of the Court can be confident Justice Jackson will continue to do her part to keep the sacred promise of our courts and our country.” – Wade Henderson

“Senators, I have known Ketanji for nearly 38 years… From the very first day I met Ketanji, I knew she was special… No matter how high she would climb, she always threw ladders down to the rest of us, and encouraged us and helped us make our own upward climb, to the best of our abilities… And now, some four decades later, the President of the United States has nominated Ketanji to be a Supreme Court Justice. It seems fitting. After all, this is what great Americans are supposed to do: they’re supposed to achieve great things. And Ketanji Brown Jackson is a great American.” – Richard Rosenthal

“NOBLE joins the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Fraternal Order of Police, the more than 60 top law enforcement leaders, and former Republican and Democratic Attorneys General in endorsing Judge Jackson. She has a unique perspective on the needs of law enforcement through the association of her family members in the profession… It is our opinion that her direct familiarity with the complexities, challenges, and opportunities within law enforcement provides a perspective on criminal justice issues that can be an asset to the Supreme Court. In evaluating her judicial track record, it is the opinion of NOBLE and other law enforcement organizations that Judge Brown Jackson has consistently adjudicated based on the facts and applied the law fairly.” – Captain Frederick Thomas

Full testimony as prepared by Rep. Joyce Beatty is available here.

Full testimony as prepared by Risa Goluboff is available here.

Full testimony as prepared by Wade Henderson is available here.

Full testimony as prepared by Richard Rosenthal is available here.

Full testimony as prepared by Captain Frederick Thomas is available here.

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