PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — In her Senate confirmation hearing this week, Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson has defended her record while Republicans have tried to portray her as soft on crime.
"I care deeply about public safety and, as a judge, it's been my duty when I was at the trial level — I'm no longer there, but when I was at the trial level — to ensure that people are held accountable for their crimes," she said.
University of Pennsylvania constitutional law professor Kermit Roosevelt, who clerked on the Supreme Court in 2000 for Justice David Souter at the same time Jackson clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer, praised her approach to the law.
"She's a great legal mind. She's very good at approaching things in a calm, unbiased way. I could see that working with her as a clerk," Roosevelt said. "She didn't go into cases with preconceptions and she was able to really engage with arguments on both sides."
Jackson spoke Wednesday morning about her upbringing, with several members of her family in law enforcement — "who were often around in their uniforms, keeping their weapons away from the kids by putting them up on high shelves. And we looked up to them, and we understood, through their service, what it meant to give back to your community."
Related
Roosevelt says Jackson's experience as a public defender and her understanding of how the criminal justice system operates sets her apart from the other justices on the bench.
"I like Philadelphia as sort of a gritty, underdog city. And I think that Ketanji actually has a background that makes her sympathetic to the underdog — not necessarily Philadelphia, but criminal defendants,” he said. “And I think that's a perspective that's missing on the Supreme Court."
If Jackson is confirmed by the Senate, she would take Breyer’s seat, as the first Black woman to serve on the court.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram