What They Are Saying: Americans Across the Country Praise Judge Jackson Following Week of Nomination Hearings

WASHINGTON – During the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings for her nomination to the Supreme Court, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson demonstrated to Congress and the American people that she is an exceptionally well-qualified jurist whose credentials, experience, and evenhanded approach to the administration of justice make her an outstanding nominee to the Supreme Court.

Here’s what they’re saying:

Judge Jackson Fair-Minded Jurist Committed to Civil Rights & Justice (Tennessee Tribune)

“Judge Jackson ‘possesses not only the exceptional competence necessary to serve on the Court, but also . . . approaches legal questions with a profound respect for the importance of protecting the civil rights afforded by the Constitution and the nation’s civil rights laws.’”

Ketanji Brown Jackson pledges independence and neutrality in Supreme Court confirmation hearing (Washington Post)

“Jackson… spent her official introduction before the Senate Judiciary Committee detailing her approach as a judge, describing it as narrowly focused on resolving the issues before her. She has been a federal judge for nine years, both on the trial court and now on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.”

High court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson exudes competence, says Judge Selya (NPR)

“‘I think that no matter what a particular senator's political beliefs are… They will be impressed by her directness, by her responsiveness, and by the fact that this is a woman who exudes competence… I see absolutely nothing in her record, her background, her character that presents any basis for a fair attack on her.’”

Ketanji Brown Jackson Explains Her Judicial Philosophy (NBC)

“Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson outlines her three-step process for approaching cases in response to a question about her judicial philosophy.”

Jackson pushes back at GOP critics, defends judicial record (AP)

“Jackson told the committee that her brother and two uncles served as police officers, and that ‘crime and the effect on the community, and the need for law enforcement — those are not abstract concepts or political slogans to me.’ … Her nomination also ‘supports public confidence in the judiciary.’”

Why KBJ Is Different (New York Times)

“Her time as a public defender means that she would become the only current justice who has spent a substantial amount of time defending poor people. It also seems to be consistent with her judicial philosophy… ‘Public defenders are not soft on crime — they are hard on injustice,’ Laura Coates, a former prosecutor, wrote for CNN.”

Ketanji Brown Jackson will bring lived experience as Black woman to Supreme Court, says BU’s law dean (WGHB)

“What we've seen is that she's someone who is a very, very careful judge who evaluates every single thing from every single side, from every single person that's put arguments before her. And she makes a well-reasoned decision based upon that.”

Opinion: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s defense background matters too (Daily Press)

“Jackson brings another type of useful diversity to the current court. She’s set to be the first justice with a deep background in defense work since Thurgood Marshall, the high court’s first African American who stepped down in 1991 for health reasons.”

High schoolers on Ketanji Brown Jackson's old debate team inspired by her nomination (WBUR)

“[Jackson has] credited her path to success to her experience on her high school debate team at Miami Palmetto Senior High School. Current students on the same debate team say Jackson's nomination is changing the way they see themselves.”

American Bar Association says Jackson is ‘A-plus’ as final day of hearings begins (Washington Post)

“Leaders of the American Bar Association, which gave Jackson its top rating, praised her Thursday as a ‘first rate’ judge ‘without any biases.’ … [T]he association reached out to thousands of judges and lawyers nationwide — including federal prosecutors, defense attorneys and civil lawyers — and conducted confidential interviews with about 250 of those who had firsthand knowledge of Jackson’s abilities.”

Republicans tripped over themselves to take shots at Ketanji Brown Jackson. She knew what to do. (USA Today)

“KBJ's deconstruction of every single one of their lies was an instruction manual for the rest of us. Be forceful, but calm. Be factual, but concise. Be restrained, but precise. They'll double down on ugliness, on anger, on outrage. But at the end of the day, these Republicans will be just a footnote as Judge Jackson makes history and leaves them in it.”

Opinion: Inappropriate attacks on Ketanji Brown Jackson ignore the Constitution (Cincinnati Enquirer)

“The senators making these attacks seem to forget that they took an oath to uphold the Constitution. The Constitution includes the Sixth Amendment right to counsel and other due process protections for defendants in criminal cases... defending a client is absolutely not an endorsement of their conduct – it’s an endorsement of the Constitution and due process.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham interrupted SCOTUS nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson so many times that Sen. Dick Durbin intervened to let her speak (Yahoo News)

“Jackson, throughout her confirmation hearings this week, has repeatedly defended her record, denounced the child-abuse crimes, and explained to Graham, along with other Republican senators, her job as a judge.”

Senator Hawley’s Disingenuous Attack against Judge Jackson’s Record on Child Pornography (National Review)

“I want to discuss the claim by Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) that Judge Jackson is appallingly soft on child-pornography offenders. The allegation appears meritless to the point of demagoguery… if [Hawley] ever handled a child-pornography case in the brief time he spent as a practicing lawyer before he sought public office, that is not apparent. Nor does it appear… that child pornography was a priority of the Missouri Attorney General’s Office during Hawley’s two-year stint as AG.”

Opinion: Republicans boast they have not pulled a Kavanaugh. In fact, they’ve treated Jackson worse. (Washington Post Editorial Board)

“Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has been a model of composure, which is made all the more impressive by the egregious behavior of some on the Republican side… The more Judge Jackson argued for rationality in criminal sentencing — or attempted to, as Mr. Graham continually interrupted her — the more Mr. Graham ranted about the evils of child pornography, which Judge Jackson had already condemned repeatedly and her record plainly shows she takes seriously.”

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