Judge Jackson Defends Role in Representing 9/11 Suspects
Under questioning from Sen. Charles Grassley during her Senate hearings Tuesday, Jackson said ensuring that people accused of wrongdoing had representation and were treated fairly amounted to upholding “our constitutional scheme,” which is what makes the American system “the best in the world.”
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Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson at Senate hearing Tuesday. Still photo via the live stream.
Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson defended her role in representing suspects at Guantanamo accused in the 9-11 attacks as an example of upholding “American values.”
Under questioning from Sen. Charles Grassley during her Senate hearings Tuesday, Jackson said ensuring that people accused of wrongdoing had representation and were treated fairly amounted to upholding “our constitutional scheme,” which is what makes the American system “the best in the world.”
Republican critics have seized on her record as a public defender in federal court to suggest she would rule in favor of criminals and wrongdoers.
“federal public defenders don’t get to pick their clients, ” she said.
In other hot button issue, Jackson pushed back at accusations she was “soft” on child sexual abusers raised by Republican Sen. Josh Hawley.
“These are some of the most difficult cases that a judge has to deal with because we’re talking about sex abuse of children,” she says, noting that her work on the UY.S. Sentencing Commission reviewing some of the guidelines for convicted sex abusers conformed to a consensus on the commission about fitting the level of punishment to the circumstances of each defendant.
