• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Politics
  • Health
  • Travel
  • Gay Pride
  • Music
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Men
  • Space
  • Science
  • Gay Iconography
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Monkeypox
  • Film/TV

Historic U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson faces Senate showdown

Towleroad March 21, 2022 Leave a Comment

Published by
Reuters
502012 origin 1

By Lawrence Hurley and Andrew Chung

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate begins consideration on Monday of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to be the first Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court, with Republicans expected to pose tough questions about her professional background and judicial philosophy.

Democratic President Joe Biden last month nominated Jackson, 51, for a lifetime job on America’s top judicial body to succeed retiring liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, setting up a confirmation battle in the closely divided Senate.

Jackson on Monday is set to make an opening statement during the first day of her Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing, with the panel’s 22 members questioning her on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Senate has confirmed Jackson to three federal posts, most recently last year, when Biden nominated her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit after eight years as a federal district judge in Washington.

Her confirmation would not change the ideological balance of the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, including three justices appointed by Republican former President Donald Trump.

But it would let Biden freshen the court’s liberal bloc with a justice young enough to serve for decades. Breyer, 83, is the court’s oldest member.

Jackson was raised in Miami and attended Harvard Law School, later serving as a Supreme Court clerk for Breyer and representing criminal defendants who could not afford a lawyer.

She is likely to face sharp questioning from Republicans including Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz on issues such as crime and cases she took when representing criminal defendants.

Some senators also could question her on race issues, including whether she should participate in an upcoming case challenging Harvard University’s affirmative action admissions policy used to increase the number of Black and Hispanic students on campus. Jackson serves on the university’s Board of Overseers and has faced calls to recuse herself from the case.

A Reuters review of 25 racial discrimination cases in which Jackson issued substantive rulings as a federal district judge found that she ruled in favor of plaintiffs in only three of them.

Jackson’s nomination fulfils Biden’s 2020 campaign promise to name a Black woman to the court, a milestone he called long overdue. If confirmed, she would be the third Black justice, following Clarence Thomas, appointed in 1991 and still serving, and Thurgood Marshall, who retired in 1991 and died in 1993.

The Supreme Court said on Sunday that Thomas was hospitalized in Washington on Friday with an infection, although it added that he was being treated with intravenous antiobiotics and expected to be released in a day or two.

Jackson also would become the sixth woman to serve on the Supreme Court, which currently has three female justices – Amy Coney Barrett, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor.

Jackson’s nomination has been backed by prominent lawyers from across the ideological spectrum, civil rights groups and law enforcement organizations including the National Fraternal Order of Police, which represents rank-and-file officers.

Democrats narrowly control the Senate, which has the task of deciding whether to confirm a president’s judicial appointments. The Senate is divided 50-50 between the two parties, with Biden’s fellow Democrats controlling it because Vice President Kamala Harris can cast a tie-breaking vote.

A simple majority vote would be needed for Jackson’s confirmation, meaning she would get the job if all Democrats are united behind the nomination regardless of what Republicans do.

The court’s conservative majority has shown increased assertiveness, with rulings due in cases that could curb abortion rights and expand gun rights.

The confirmation hearing ends on Thursday with witnesses testifying about Jackson’s suitability for the job. The Judiciary Committee would then vote on the nomination in the coming weeks, followed by a final confirmation vote on the Senate floor. Breyer has said he would remain on the court until its current term ends, typically in late June.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham, Scott Malone and Gerry Doyle)

Topics: Aaon, towleroad More Posts About: Amy Coney Barrett, Clarence Thomas, Donald Trump, Elena Kagan, Harvard Law School, Kamala Harris, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, Ted Cruz

Related Posts
  • Georgia rebukes Trump over US voter fraud ‘Big Lie’
  • Exclusive: Biden moves to fill key appellate seat vacated by U.S. Supreme Court’s Jackson
  • U.S. commission recommends renaming nine Army bases to strip Confederate legacy
  • Lithuanian parliament agrees to consider same-sex partnership bill

    Lithuanian parliament agrees to consider same-sex partnership bill

    Published by Reuters UK By Andrius Sytas VILNIUS (Reuters) – Lithuania’s parliament on Thursday voted to accept a draft bill legalizing same-sex civil partnerships for further debate, after voting down a similar bill in May 2021. …Read More »
  • German minister warns against homophobia amid monkeypox outbreak

    German minister warns against homophobia amid monkeypox outbreak

    Published by DPA Karl Lauterbach, German Minister of Health, attends a press conference on monkeypox, on the sidelines of the German Doctors Day (Aerztetag). Melissa Erichsen/dpa German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has warned against the stigmatization …Read More »
  • Todd Chrisley’s ‘Ex Lover’ and Business Partner Confirms Gay Affair, Blackmail While Testifying On Helping ‘Chrisley Knows Best’ Star, Wife Julie  Commit Fraud

    Todd Chrisley’s ‘Ex Lover’ and Business Partner Confirms Gay Affair, Blackmail While Testifying On Helping ‘Chrisley Knows Best’ Star, Wife Julie Commit Fraud

      Published by Radar Online   Mega Todd Chrisley’s ex-lover and employee testified earlier this week that he allegedly helped the reality TV star commit fraud by creating fake documents and impersonating Todd, Radar has learned. …Read More »
  • Biden Administration makes revised proposal to protect key Alaska watershed

    Biden Administration makes revised proposal to protect key Alaska watershed

    Published by Reuters By Ruhi Soni (Reuters) -The Biden administration made a revised proposal on Wednesday to ban the disposal of mining waste in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed, dealing a potential death blow to the contentious …Read More »
Previous Post: « Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now
Next Post: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thomas in hospital for infection »

Primary Sidebar

News

  • Georgia rebukes Trump over US voter fraud ‘Big Lie’

    Georgia rebukes Trump over US voter fraud ‘Big Lie’

  • Nike halts sales to retailers in Russia

    Nike halts sales to retailers in Russia

  • Shunned! Caitlyn Jenner Denied Invite To Kardashian-Barker Wedding In Italy

    Shunned! Caitlyn Jenner Denied Invite To Kardashian-Barker Wedding In Italy

  • Paranoid Putin! Russian Leader Promotes Bodyguard To Minister Following Predecessor’s Sudden & Mysterious Death

    Paranoid Putin! Russian Leader Promotes Bodyguard To Minister Following Predecessor’s Sudden & Mysterious Death

Break

  • Dyson set to preview new robots to help with tasks at home

    Dyson set to preview new robots to help with tasks at home

  • Elvis fever set to shake Cannes

    Elvis fever set to shake Cannes

  • Battle Of The Billionaires! Elon Musk SLAMS Bill Gates After Article Claims Microsoft Mogul Is Funding Musk’s Critics

    Battle Of The Billionaires! Elon Musk SLAMS Bill Gates After Article Claims Microsoft Mogul Is Funding Musk’s Critics

  • Paula Abdul planning ‘spectacular’ 60th birthday bash

    Paula Abdul planning ‘spectacular’ 60th birthday bash

RSS Partner Links

  • OMG, Will Poulter is all grown up and lookin’ like a shirtless snack while in Ibiza with Florence Pugh
  • Kevin Spacey HAD A Secret
  • OMG Playlist: May 2022
  • WATCH: Ellen DeGeneres shares how she almost gave her writer the Medal of Freedom by accident
  • Birthday Sluts
  • Page 1 Roundup (05/26)
  • A Look 'Beyond the Law'
  • Wrestle Wednesday
  • Morning Wood

Most Recent

  • Apple unveils new Pride Apple Watch bands and watch face

    Apple unveils new Pride Apple Watch bands and watch face

  • Lithuanian parliament agrees to consider same-sex partnership bill

    Lithuanian parliament agrees to consider same-sex partnership bill

  • German minister warns against homophobia amid monkeypox outbreak

    German minister warns against homophobia amid monkeypox outbreak

  • Todd Chrisley’s ‘Ex Lover’ and Business Partner Confirms Gay Affair, Blackmail While Testifying On Helping ‘Chrisley Knows Best’ Star, Wife Julie  Commit Fraud

    Todd Chrisley’s ‘Ex Lover’ and Business Partner Confirms Gay Affair, Blackmail While Testifying On Helping ‘Chrisley Knows Best’ Star, Wife Julie Commit Fraud

  • Biden Administration makes revised proposal to protect key Alaska watershed

    Biden Administration makes revised proposal to protect key Alaska watershed

  • ‘What is the purpose?’ NC bill on teaching LGBTQ issues likely to be blocked by governor

    ‘What is the purpose?’ NC bill on teaching LGBTQ issues likely to be blocked by governor

  • Ellen DeGeneres ends pioneering talk show under cloud

    Ellen DeGeneres ends pioneering talk show under cloud

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 · Log in