Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden’s pick to sit on the Supreme Court, has a documented history of giving criminals convicted of child pornography charges lighter sentences than what is recommended by federal guidelines.
Jackson’s hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee began Monday, and Republicans have focused in on her history of lighter sentences for those convicted of child pornography charges. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) explained Jackson’s past rulings to The Daily Wire’s “Morning Wire” podcast.
“What we found was 10 cases where she’s weighed in on child pornography,” Blackburn told “Morning Wire.” “Eight of those 10 cases, she was below the minimum sentence. … And this ranged anywhere from 14% to 88%.”
Jackson’s propensity to give child pornography convicts lighter sentences is part of a large trend among judges. Republicans critical of the trend have pressed the Supreme Court pick on her sentencing judgement for several days.
“There were two cases where she didn’t have judicial discretion, and those cases were right at the guidelines,” Blackburn said. “But what she did by and large, when she had — when she was given that discretion, she went below the guidelines.”
Blackburn questioned Jackson on Tuesday, asking the potential Supreme Court justice if she could define the term “woman.” Jackson demurred. The Daily Wire reported on the exchange:
“Can you provide a definition for the word ‘woman’?” Blackburn asked.
“Can I provide a definition?” Jackson repeated the question.
“Mmhmm, yeah,” Blackburn confirmed.
“I can’t,” Jackson replied.
“You can’t?” Blackburn asked.
“Not — in this context, I’m not a biologist,” Jackson laughed.
“So you believe the meaning of the word ‘woman’ is so unclear and controversial that you can’t give me a definition?” Blackburn continued to press.
“Senator, in my work as a judge, what I do is I address disputes,” Jackson pushed back, suggesting that she could only provide a decision based on arguments and the law. “If there is a dispute about a definition, people make arguments and I look at the law and I decide, so — I’m not —”
“The fact that you can’t give me a straight answer about something as fundamental as what a woman is underscores the dangers of the kind of progressive education that we are hearing about,” Blackburn continued.
In addition to her sentencing history, Jackson has also received questions about her history with Critical Race Theory. Jackson serves on the board of a Washington, D.C., school that promotes CRT in its curriculum. In speeches and lectures given over the past seven years, Jackson has legitimized CRT terms such as “microaggression,” and touted some of CRT’s leading scholars. As The Daily Wire reported:
A review of a handful of Jackson’s lectures and speeches from the past seven years shows that the nominee has a strong appreciation for leading proponents of CRT, a progressive idea that holds in part: “racism is endemic to, rather than a deviation from, American norms,” legal scholar Kimberle Crenshaw, who coined the term, wrote in 1989. While Jackson has avoided openly championing CRT, she has complimented its advocates and suggested that the progressive theory informs her legal analysis.