What to watch as Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court hearings begin

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March 20, 2022

By Associated Press, TheGrio

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson prepares to deliver an opening statement on Monday before the Senate Judiciary Committee

Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson waits to meet with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., on Capitol Hill, March 8, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

After meeting privately with almost half the members of the Senate, it’s time for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson to testify publicly this week before the Senate Judiciary Committee. If confirmed, as is expected, she would be the first Black woman to sit on the high court in its more than 200-year history.

Several Republicans who met with Jackson praised her legal acumen, broad experience and engaging, empathetic demeanor. But some Republicans on the committee, especially those who might run for president in 2024, are expected to aggressively criticize her record. Brown Jackson was a public defender, a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission and a federal district court judge before she was confirmed as an appellate judge last year.

After the hearings conclude, the committee will vote on sending her nomination to the full Senate. Democrats hope to confirm Jackson by April 8, when they leave Washington for a two-week spring recess.

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