Sen. Tom Cotton, R- Ark., questioned Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the Senate Judiciary Committee continued its Supreme Court confirmation hearings March 23. Cotton asked Jackson if she thought America would be more or less safe if all current detainees at Guantanamo Bay were released.
Jackson noted that those detainees were legally designated as enemy combatants by the executive branch following the 9/11 attacks, and that the Supreme Court ruled that anyone who was so detained could seek review of their detention.
As a federal public defender, Jackson said her role was to “make arguments in defense of the Constitution” and help assess questions like whether detainees were adequately classified, the legal circumstances of the situation and how habeas petitions were going to be processed.
“This was a series of legal challenges in a novel environment that federal public defenders and lawyers across the country were engaged in helping the court to evaluate so that we can understand what the Constitution required in this time of emergency,” Jackson said.
When pressed, Jackson affirmed that America would indeed be less safe if terrorists were attacking the country. She added it would be more safe in a situation where “all of our Constitutional rights are protected.”
Citing Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, Jackson emphasized that the Constitution is not suspended in times of crisis.
“The government still has to follow the rules. And so criminal defense lawyers make sure that in times of crisis, the government is following the rules,” Jackson said.
Wednesday was senators’ final day to question Jackson, who 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. 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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