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Graham, who previously voted for Ketanji Brown Jackson, says her nomination means ‘radical Left has won’

20 min ago

Graham, who previously voted for Ketanji Brown Jackson, says her nomination means “radical Left has won”

From CNN’s Sonnet Swire

Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks during a Senate Committee on Appropriations hearing in Washington, DC, in 2021.
Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks during a Senate Committee on Appropriations hearing in Washington, DC, in 2021. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool/AFP/Getty Images)

After a source told CNN that President Biden has selected Ketanji Brown Jackson as his nominee to the Supreme Court, GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham expressed his displeasure via Twitter — even though he has previously voted for her.

“If media reports are accurate, and Judge Jackson has been chosen as the Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Breyer, it means the radical Left has won President Biden over yet again. The attacks by the Left on Judge Childs from South Carolina apparently worked,” he tweeted.

Graham was one of the three Senate Republicans to confirm Jackson in 2021. 

“I expect a respectful but interesting hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Harvard-Yale train to the Supreme Court continues to run unabated,” he also tweeted.

1 hr 42 min ago

National Women’s Law Center: Jackson’s nomination promises “an end to the erasure of Black women” from SCOTUS

Reactions are starting to come in following CNN’s reporting that President Biden has selected Ketanji Brown Jackson as his nominee to the Supreme Court, according to a source who has been notified about the decision.

Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, said Jackson’s historic nomination “promises an end to the erasure of Black women from our most sacred legal institutions.”

Read the full statement below:

“Judge Jackson is an eminently qualified public servant with distinguished experience as a federal judge, and her historic nomination promises an end to the erasure of Black women from our most sacred legal institutions. She brings extensive litigation experience at every level of the federal court system. As a District Court judge, she ruled on over 550 cases and is renowned for her careful, methodical approach to ensuring equal justice under law on reproductive rights, disability rights, and workers rights. It is incumbent upon senators to give her a fair and timely confirmation without obstruction, honoring their Constitutional duty to advise and consent and their moral duty to treat her with the respect and dignity she deserves.”

2 hr 5 min ago

Ketanji Brown Jackson is expected to be on Capitol Hill next week

From CNN’s Manu Raju

Ketanji Brown Jackson is expected to have her courtesy meetings with senators next week, according to a person familiar with the plans.

It’s common for Supreme Court nominees to meet with the leadership on both sides, then members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois who serves as chairman of the committee, told CNN recently that he expects to have a hearing within a few weeks of the selection. The goal of the leadership is to have the nominee confirmed by the April 11 recess.

2 hr ago

Biden met with Jackson earlier this month — a meeting that was kept under the radar, source says

From CNN’s Jeff Zeleny 

President Biden met with Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for her Supreme Court interview earlier this month – more than a week ago, a senior administration official says, in a meeting that the White House managed to keep entirely under the radar.

For more than a year, the President had familiarized himself with her work, reading many of her opinions and other writings – along with those of other contenders.

But the official says Biden also was impressed by her life story, including her rise from federal public defender to federal appellate judge – and her upbringing as the daughter of two public school teachers and administrators.

“President Biden sought a candidate with exceptional credentials, unimpeachable character and unwavering dedication to the rule of law,” the senior official said.

From the beginning, Jackson was the leading contender — but the official said the President gave “considerable weight” to other finalists, including Judge Michelle Childs and California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger.

The President reached his final decision this week, the official said, and extended the offer to her in a phone call on Thursday evening. She accepted in a call that lasted several minutes, the official said.

The White House considered delaying the announcement, given the events in Russia, but believed it was critical to get the second phase of the confirmation process moving, the official said.

15 min ago

The Supreme Court hasn’t had a judge with criminal defense experience since Thurgood Marshall, legal expert says

(Al Drago/Getty Images)
(Al Drago/Getty Images)

If confirmed, President Biden’s reported Supreme Court nominee pick, Ketanji Brown Jackson, “would be the only justice in a very long time with experience as a criminal defense lawyer. It hasn’t been since Thurgood Marshall that anyone with criminal defense experience has been on the court,” CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said.

Recapping her tenure that ranges from being a public defender to a private lawyer, Toobin said it’s the kind of experience that “many people think the court has needed for many years.”

“Judge Jackson has everything. She is impeccably qualified by all the traditional measures,” he added. “She was a graduate of Harvard Law School. She clerked for Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court, sort of like Brett Kavanaugh clerked for Anthony Kennedy, whom he replaced on the Supreme Court.”

2 hr 18 min ago

CNN obtains White House statement announcing “exceptionally qualified” Ketanji Brown Jackson as SCOTUS nominee

From CNN’s Jeff Zeleny and Betsy Klein

President Biden will announce his intent to nominate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as an associate justice of the US Supreme Court, the White House said in a statement obtained by CNN that will be sent to reporters in the next hour. 

Jackson “had broad experience across the legal profession,” the White House said in a statement, pointing to her career as a federal appellate judge, a federal district court judge, a member of the US Sentencing Commission, an attorney in private practice, and as a federal public defender.

The White House statement described Jackson as “an exceptionally qualified” and “historic” nominee, calling on the Senate to “move forward with a fair and timely hearing and confirmation.”

Biden, the White House said, “conducted a rigorous process” to identify Justice Stephen Breyer’s replacement. Breyer announced Jan. 27 he would retire, pending his successor’s confirmation.

“President Biden sought a candidate with exceptional credentials, unimpeachable character, and unwavering dedication to the rule of law. He also sought a nominee—much like Justice Breyer—who is wise, pragmatic, and has a deep understanding of the Constitution as an enduring charter of liberty,” the White House said.

Biden also sought “an individual who is committed to equal justice under the law and who understands the profound impact that the Supreme Court’s decisions have on the lives of the American people.”

The White House noted that Biden sought the advice of both Democratic and Republican senators.

“He studied the histories and case records of candidates, consulted legal experts, and met with candidates,” the statement said.

15 min ago

Jackson clerked for Stephen Breyer, the Supreme Court justice she would replace if confirmed 

From CNN’s Ariane de Vogue

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer speaks about his retirement at the White House on January 27.
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer speaks about his retirement at the White House on January 27. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

If confirmed to the highest court, Ketanji Brown Jackson would replace the vacancy left by Justice Stephen Breyer, who announced his retirement earlier this year.

Jackson clerked for Breyer during the 1999 term after serving as a clerk in 1997-1998 to Judge Bruce M. Selya, a federal judge in Massachusetts.

She has served as a federal public defender in Washington — an experience that her backers say is fitting, given Biden’s commitment to putting more public defenders on the federal bench.

She was also a commissioner on the US Sentencing Commission and served on the federal district court in DC, as an appointee of President Barack Obama, before Biden elevated her to the DC Circuit last year.

2 hr 36 min ago

Black women-led groups have mapped out a strategy to support Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court

From CNN’s Ariane de Vogue and Jasmine Wright

A broad coalition of Black women leaders is planning several events to back President Biden’s historic nomination to the Supreme Court.  

CNN is reporting that Biden has selected Ketanji Brown Jackson as his nominee to the Supreme Court, according to a source who has been notified about the decision, setting in motion a confirmation process for the first Black woman to sit on the highest court in the nation.

Black women-led groups have mapped out a strategy over several weeks to uplift the nominee throughout the duration of the conformation process, including “virtual activations” to express support for Jackson, according to a source familiar with the plans. 

Some groups are planning a day on Capitol Hill next week, and a news conference on the steps of the Supreme Court in early March.

2 hr 35 min ago

A look back at Ketanji Brown Jackson’s legal career

From CNN’s Jake Tapper and Ariane de Vogue

Ketanji Brown Jackson testifies during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on April 28, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Ketanji Brown Jackson testifies during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on April 28, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Tom Williams/Pool/Getty Images)

As a judge in Washington, DC — where some of the most politically charged cases are filed — Ketanji Brown Jackson issued notable rulings touching on Congress’ ability to investigate the White House.

As a district court judge, she wrote a 2019 opinion siding with House lawmakers who sought the testimony of then-White House Counsel Don McGahn. Last year, she was on the unanimous circuit panel that ordered disclosure of certain Trump White House documents to the House January 6 committee.

Following Breyer’s retirement announcement in late January, Biden began reviewing background materials, such as legal records and writings, about his potential picks, which included Jackson, California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger and South Carolina US District Judge J. Michelle Childs.

Biden first committed to nominating a Black female US Supreme Court justice when he was running for president in 2020. On a debate stage in South Carolina, Biden argued that his push to make “sure there’s a Black woman on the Supreme Court” was rooted in an effort to “get everyone represented.”

Jackson was born in the nation’s capital but grew up in the Miami area. She was a member of the debate team at Miami Palmetto Senior High School before earning both her undergraduate degree and law degree at Harvard.

At her 2021 confirmation hearing for the appellate court, she connected her family’s professions — her parents worked in public schools — to her decision to work as a public defender.

“I come from a background of public service. My parents were in public service, my brother was a police officer and (was) in the military,” she said at the time, “and being in the public defenders’ office felt very much like the opportunity to help with my skills and talents.”

Former House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican, is a relative by marriage and introduced her at the 2013 hearing for her district court nomination.

Conservatives have already previewed how they will scrutinize her record defending Guantanamo Bay detainees as a public defender. The role she played in her uncle’s successful efforts to seek a commutation from former President Barack Obama has also attracted attention. When she was in private practice in 2008, she referred her uncle’s file to the firm Wilmer Hale, which several years later submitted the file.

As a judge, some other notable cases she has in her record are a 2018 case brought federal employee unions where she blocked parts of executive orders issued by former President Donald Trump, and a case where she ruled against Trump policies that expand the categories of non-citizens who could be subject to expedited removal procedures without being able to appear before a judge.

Jackson penned more than 500 opinions in the eight years she spent on the district court.

Read more about her life and career here.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/biden-supreme-court-nominee-ketanji-brown-jackson/h_682d3c9e859ac4f4867b58b81391763e