In the Senate Judiciary Committee’s confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., asked the Supreme Court nominee about her prior rulings on cases involving distributors of child pornography. Durbin cited tweets from Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., in which he accused Jackson of delivering insufficient punishment to those offenders and said he is concerned that her record “endangers our children.” Experts have said that Hawley’s charges are misleading.
Jackson responded to Durbin by saying that “nothing could be further from the truth,” noting that child sex abuse crimes are some of the most difficult cases with which judges must engage. She added that judicial guidelines set by Congress require judges not to hand down the highest possible penalty, but impose a sentence that is “sufficient but not greater than necessary to promote the purposes of punishment.” Jackson also said that it’s important to her to ensure that former child victims are represented in her sentences.
“I tell [defendants] about the victim statements that have come in to me as a judge. I tell them about the adults who were former child sex abuse victims, who tell me that they will never have a normal adult relationship because of this abuse,” Jackson said.
Jackson was nominated by President Joe Biden in February to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. If confirmed, she will be the first Black woman on the high court. After opening statements from Jackson, her colleagues and the senators March 21, senators will spend two days questioning Jackson at length about her rulings and judicial philosophy. On the final day of the hearings March 24, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hear from friends and colleagues of Jackson about her temperament and approach to the law.
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