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Monday 28 March 2022
Continued from Front chance to start making the tempt to portray the nomi- that in some cases she went check after fact check.”
The insinuations that Jack- court more reflective of the nee as they wished. beyond recommendations But alone before the pan-
son, a distinguished jurist diverse nation it serves. But “I can only wonder what’s to come down harder on el, Jackson had difficulty
and mother of two, is a se- they have been slow to bol- your hidden agenda,” defendants. convincing the Republican
cret radical liberal or poses ster the judge’s nomination asked Sen. Marsha Black- “What I regret,” Jackson senators as she worked to
a danger to the safety of against the unrelenting at- burn, R-Tenn., pointing to told the senators, “is that in explain the rules judges ad-
children felt to some sup- tacks and instead allowed one of the judge’s earlier the hearing about my qual- here to and the nuances
porters as yet another ex- them to linger. writings. “Is it to let violent ifications to be a justice on of the wrenching cases
ample of highly qualified Over and over during her criminals, cop killers and the Supreme Court, we’ve they face. The GOP sena-
Black women having to hearings, Republican Sens. child predators back to the spent a lot of time focusing tors rarely accepted the
endure indignities and dis- Ted Cruz of Texas, Lindsey streets? ... Is it your personal on this small subset of my judge’s answers and inter-
tortions of their credentials, Graham of South Carolina hidden agenda to incor- sentences.” jected or just ignored her
even as they shatter racial and Josh Hawley of Mis- porate critical race theory explanations altogether.
barriers in American soci- souri hammered Jackson into our legal system?” For many supporters of At one point, Jackson sim-
ety. on a handful of the many These senators insisted their Jackson, the Republicans’ ply stopped answering:
Campbell told The Associ- cases she handled as a questions were not about cherry-picking of her re- “Senator,” she said to Cruz,
ated Press that “the other- judge, asking if she regret- race. In fact, Graham cord tarnished a momen- “I’ve said what I’m going to
ing of her, in a sense, like ted having a record that, opened with a warning tous occasion. say about these cases. No
she’s against our children,” in their view, is soft on child that the questioners would Nina Turner, a former Ohio one case can stand in for a
seemed like a tired political pornography defendants. be framed as racist. “We’re state senator who was a judge’s entire record.”
tactic. No matter how many times all racists if we ask hard prominent surrogate for By Thursday, as the hear-
“My spirit feels it was to Jackson asserted, for ex- questions. It’s not going to Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2020 ings concluded, Republi-
bring this Black woman ample, that the child por- fly with us.” Democratic presiden- can leaders in the Senate
down because she’s about nography cases were Yet Republicans ignored tial campaign, criticized were using the issue — and
to break the glass ceiling some of “the most difficult” analysis that shows Jack- Democratic members on her refusal to repeat earlier
that, once broken, opens of her career or tried to ex- son’s sentencing record on the committee for not de- answers — as justification
the door to more.” plain the particulars of the such cases is on track with fending Jackson more vig- for opposing her confirma-
Democrats praise Presi- law, the GOP senators talk- other judges appointed by orously. “She should not tion.
dent Joe Biden’s choice of ed over her, past her and both Democrats and Re- have had to endure what Throughout the four days
Jackson as long overdue, a pushed onward in their at- publican presidents, and she endured,” Turner told of testimony, Black women
the AP. “The Democratic filled many of the seats in
senators should have used the committee room. Those
their authority and position- women included some of
ing to show the requisite the leading civil rights fig-
outrage necessary for that ures and members of the
moment.” Congressional Black Cau-
Overall, during her time on cus, which ran its own “war
the district court bench, room” to back up Jack-
Jackson presided over 14 son’s nomination.
total cases of child sexual LaTosha Brown, cofounder
abuse, interstate travel for of the group Black Voters
child sexual abuse and Matter, said she had re-
child pornography. ceived numerous text mes-
The American Bar Associa- sages from Black women
tion’s standing committee who were both outraged
on the federal judiciary by Jackson’s treatment
said in its survey of some from senators and heart-
250 judges, attorneys and ened by her clear determi-
academics that words nation to endure the pro-
such as “brilliant,” “beyond cess.
reproach,” “fair” were used “I just got texts that said,
to describe Jackson, who ‘Persevere.’”
earned the panel’s highest It was a reference to Jack-
rating. son’s own words of advice
“They uniformly rejected delivered at the hearing
any accusations of bias,” to young people who may
said Jean Veta of the ABA have watched what the
committee. nominee endured and felt
In a letter to the Senate discouraged.
committee, Fred Bowman, “Black people in Amer-
a University of Missouri law ica,” Brown said, “if we
professor and former fed- don’t know anything else,
eral prosecutor, spoke of we know what that word
his dismay at the thought means.”q
Jackson was somehow
“soft” on these crimes. His
letter was signed by other
experts in the field.
White House deputy press
secretary Andrew Bates
blasted the Republican line
of questioning as an “em-
barrassing conspiracy the-
ory” that “has been con-
clusively debunked by fact
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