Warning: This part of the hearing contains graphic depictions of abuse involving children.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., questioned Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the Senate Judiciary Committee continued its Supreme Court confirmation hearings March 23. As in his line of questioning in previous days, Hawley focused on some of the sentencing decisions Jackson made in child pornography cases. Hawley asked Jackson if she regretted that a sentence in one of those cases, which was less than the government had requested.
“What I regret is that in a hearing about my qualifications to be a justice on the Supreme Court, we’ve spent a lot of time focusing on this small subset of my sentences,” Jackson said.
Hawley continued to push Jackson on the reasoning behind her sentences in these cases, including why, in his words, she would not “apply sentencing enhancements that the government was asking for.”
“I treated those cases and every case very seriously and imposed a sentence that was sufficient but not greater than necessary to promote the purposes of punishment,” Jackson said.
It 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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