Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) will offer testimony on Thursday before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee regarding the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Marshall is scheduled to lead the third panel during Thursday’s hearing. He is expected to speak about the significance of the United States Supreme Court with regards to public safety, law and order, and the criminal justice system.
The Senate Judiciary hearing is scheduled to commence at 8:00 a.m. Central Daylight Time on March 24. The schedule of witnesses and video coverage of the hearing will appear on the committee website.
The nomination hearing may also be viewable on C-SPAN.
Jackson has been nominated by President Joseph R. Biden (D) for the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court created by the pending retirement of Associate Justice Stephen Breyer.
Republican critics of Judge Jackson claim that in speeches and writings, Jackson has frequently cited leading advocates and ideas of Critical Race Theory (CRT). Jackson praised the late Derrick Bell, better known as the godfather of CRT, and his wife Janet Bell referring to his 1993 book, “Faces At The Bottom Of The Well: The Permanence Of Racism” as “essential reading” and “a pioneering contribution to critical race theory scholarship.” In a lecture, Jackson highlighted the 1619 Project, which was repurposed into materials for K-12 students – originally claiming that the “true founding” of the U.S. began when the first slave ship arrived in the U.S. In a lecture, Jackson revealed that she found sentencing “interesting on an intellectual level, in part, because it melds together myriad types of law” including “constitutional law, critical race theory” and others.
Jackson’s GOP critics claim that she has been hostile to the pro-life movement. Especially they cite that: Jackson denied a motion from the Trump administration, allowing the abortion provider Healthy Futures of Texas to sue for federal funding, granted Healthy Futures of Texas’ request to certify a class-action lawsuit against the Trump administration, and ruled against the Trump administration in another case, stating that cutting off federal abortion funds was arbitrary. They also cite that a decision by Jackson upholding a Massachusetts law banning pro-life groups from protesting in front of abortion providers was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Jackson’s GOP critics also accuse her of being soft on crime. They claim that Jackson has a history of going soft on repeat offenders and career criminals who could pose serious risks to the public, including in cases involving fentanyl and other drugs, illegal immigrants and police. They cite examples of cases where Jackson sentenced defendants to even less than what they and their attorneys were asking for.
Biden emphasized Jackson’s academic accomplishments and experience as an attorney and judge when he nominated her.
“Not only did she learn about being a judge from Justice Breyer himself, she saw the great rigor through which Justice Breyer approached his work,” Biden said. “She learned from his willingness to work with colleagues with different viewpoints — critical qualities for — in my view, for any Supreme Court Justice. Now, years later, she steps up to fill Justice Breyer’s place on the Court with a uniquely accomplished and wide-ranging background."
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Jackson will be the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandon.moseley@1819News.com.
