Ketanji Brown Jackson rejects claims she was soft on child porn cases [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• It’s Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s second day of her confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
• Jackson defended herself against Republican accusations that she is soft in sentencing child porn offenders.
• Jackson is the first black woman nominated to the Supreme Court.

GOP Sen. Josh Hawley did not back away from interrogating Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, accusing her of taking a lenient approach to child pornography offenders.

Hawley discussed a number of child pornography cases during Jackson’s time time as a federal district judge. The senator believes Jackson gave lighter sentences than the federal guidelines recommended.

President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee addressed Hawley’s attacks on Tuesday, saying it was a mischaracterization of her record.

Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, asked Jackson about her record and how she felt that her family had to hear Hawley’s accusations against her.

“As a mother and a judge who has had to deal with these cases, I was thinking that nothing could be further from the truth,” Jackson said. 

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Hawley, reiterated the senator’s criticisms of her on Twitter, adding that the senator will not drop the issue.

Law experts said that federal judges across the ideological spectrum think the current guidelines are outdated and improper.

“The claims take Judge Jackson’s record completely out of context,” Jelani Jefferson Exum, dean of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and leading expert on sentencing law, told Insider.

Jackson “has never been known as an overly-lenient or one-sided jurist,” Exum added, calling Hawley “dishonest” to single out a few of Jackson’s cases and “distort her record, which is quite mainstream.”

Hawley ignored defenses of Jackson’s record during the first day of hearing.

“I will note that some have said the federal sentencing guidelines are too harsh, especially on child sex crimes and especially on child pornography,” the senator said in his opening statement. “I’ll be honest, I just don’t agree with that. The amount of child pornography in circulation has absolutely exploded in recent years.”

Other Republicans, who don’t have concrete messages to oppose Jackson’s nomination, are now latching on to Hawley’s line of attack.

Last week, Hawley started his attacks against Jackson, saying her record “endangers our children.” The White House, some Democratic senators, and supporters of Jackson pushed back.

“Attempts to smear or discredit her history and her work are not borne out in facts,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. She praised Jackson’s long list of endorsements from major law-enforcement officials and organizations across the country. 

Source: Insider