What Ketanji Brown Jackson can expect to hear from Republicans this week

What Ketanji Brown Jackson can expect to hear from Republicans this week

　　Transcript¹

　　The thesaurus has no synonyms² for the phrase "confirmation³ hearing." That's because it's a unique beast. Unique because it is like no other. And beast because when it comes to a Supreme⁴ Court nomination⁵, it is treacherous⁶ for the nominee⁷, while offering enormous opportunities for her questioners.

　　Keep that in mind as the Senate Judiciary Committee opens hearings Monday on the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court.

　　If confirmed, she would be the first Black woman to serve on the nation's highest court, and she would be one of four women on the court, the largest number ever to serve at one time.

　　Republicans Preview Their Attacks

　　Judge Jackson's lengthy⁸ and diverse background as a lawyer and judge seems to have defused any notion that she is not qualified⁹. And so far, Republican leaders have taken only indirect swipes at her.

　　"We're in the middle of a violent crime wave including soaring rates of homicides, and carjackings," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell opined last week, adding, "Amid all this, the soft on crime brigade is squarely in Judge Jackson's corner."

　　Note that he didn't actually say anything about Jackson herself. That may be because Republicans know the optics of personally attacking a Black woman are less than ideal. Not to mention that Jackson comes from a family of law enforcement officers and has the endorsement¹⁰ of the Fraternal Order of Police.

　　Then too, Republicans know there is already a conservative super-majority on the court, and even if Jackson is a liberal, it won't change the balance of power on the court, as she has been nominated to fill the seat of the liberal justice she once clerked for, Stephen Breyer, who is retiring.

　　Nonetheless at this week's hearings, Jackson will have her critics. Plenty of them. Among other things, they will focus on her record on the bench — eight years as a trial judge, and eight months on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

　　Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., got a head start last week, posting a series of tweets alleging¹² that Jackson has "an alarming pattern" of sentencing child pornography offenders¹³ to prison terms that are below those recommended by the sentencing guidelines.

　　The White House adamantly¹⁴ disputed Hawley's claim. "The facts are that in the vast majority of cases involving child sex crimes, broadly, the sentences Judge Jackson imposed were consistent with or above what the government or [the] U.S. probation¹⁶ office recommended," said White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday.

　　According to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, on which Jackson served, there is wide agreement among prosecutors¹⁷, defense¹⁸ attorneys, probation officers and judges that the sentencing guidelines, set by Congress nearly two decades ago for child pornography, have become outdated¹⁹ with the rise of the internet. Consequently, less than a third of offenders convicted of possessing child pornography are sentenced within the guidelines.

　　Political Theater

　　Among the Republicans expected to be most hostile in their questioning this week are Hawley, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Ted¹¹ Cruz of Texas. It's no accident that all three harbor presidential ambitions. For them, these hearings are their time to strut²⁰ their stuff, much as some of the Democrats²¹ did in questioning Donald Trump²²'s three Supreme Court nominees²³. This time, though, the Democrats will be playing defense.

　　"Often these hearings become sort of kabuki theater," observes NYU law professor Melissa Murray. "The senators get to play out various soundbites that are later repurposed and repackaged" for a larger audience.

　　Still, the Senate does have the constitutional authority, and duty, to advise and consent to Supreme Court nominations²⁴. In modern times, that means trying to find out what a nominee's views are and, sometimes, to discredit²⁵ her.

　　If past is prologue²⁶, that could be a challenge. The Trump and Obama Supreme Court nominees were well schooled in saying as little as possible, and Judge Jackson is no newbie to this dance. This is her fourth confirmation hearing, although this one is definitely in a different league.

　　Conservatives in particular want to know if she interprets the Constitution as its words were understood at the time the Constitution was adopted. Or does she view the Constitution as establishing broad principles that can be applied²⁷ to modern times and circumstances.

　　"I've been very surprised at what I consider to be her evasiveness in terms of talking about whether she has a judicial²⁸ philosophy," says John Malcolm, vice²⁹ president of the conservative Heritage Foundation's Institute for Constitutional Government. He points to Jackson's testimony³⁰ last June when she was nominated to the D.C. Court of Appeals.

　　"She said that she doesn't have a judicial philosophy per se. I find that very surprising for somebody who went to Harvard Law school, clerked for three federal judges, including a justice, and ha[d] been a sitting judge at the time for eight years," Malcolm said.

　　An Unrevealing Judicial Record

　　But conservative libertarian Erik Jaffe, policy director of a First Amendment³¹ advocacy group, counters that Judge Jackson's record isn't much help because the job of a district court judge is to follow precedent³². "How can you tell what a judge or justice will do once given a certain measure of discretion³³ based upon what they did when they didn't have discretion?" he asks. "The answer is, you really can't."

　　There are, of course, some noteworthy Jackson decisions. Most prominent was a decision ordering President Donald Trump's former White House counsel, Don McGahn, to appear before the House Judiciary Committee to testify in its investigation³⁴ of alleged³⁵ Russian interference in the 2016 elections.

　　"Presidents are not kings," she wrote. "That means that they do not have subjects bound by loyalty³⁶ or blood, whose destiny they are entitled to control." Ultimately McGahn did testify after the Justice Department, by then under the control of the Biden administration, reached an agreement with the committee.

　　In another case, Jackson ruled that the use of the F-word at a protest rally was not grounds for arrest, but as in so many of her cases, the decision turned on a different, more technical, issue.

　　The fact is that the bread and butter of the federal courts in Washington, D.C., is administrative³⁷ law. Does an agency have authority to pass this set of regulations? Did it follow proper procedure? Are its reasons for regulating this way properly justified³⁸? And most of these cases do not involve big public controversies³⁹.

　　Because of that, there is a way in which Jackson "has been genetically⁴⁰ engineered for this moment," says professor Murray. "She has been on two courts that deal primarily with the sort of arcane⁴¹ administrative law issues that don't touch on hot-button questions that could be fodder⁴² in a confirmation hearing." Indeed, adds Murray, Jackson's docket has been "super boring."

　　So don't be surprised if senators also focus on Jackson's career before she became a judge — her years as vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission and the clients she represented as a public defender⁴³ and in private practice.

　　During her confirmation hearing for the court of appeals last April, Sen. Cruz questioned her about a brief that she wrote on behalf of a group of retired⁴⁴ judges in a case involving detainees then held in Guantanamo Bay. The judges wanted to file a brief arguing that evidence obtained by torture should not be admissible in the prisoner's subsequent trial.

　　Cruz noted⁴⁵ that this was a pro¹⁵ bono case and suggested that lawyers rarely work for free unless the client's position reflects their own views. Jackson, however, emphasized that the case was assigned to her by her employer, a large law firm. "But did you agree with the position you were advocating?" Cruz followed up. Again Jackson deflected⁴⁶. "I didn't have a personal view really ... other than just to make sure that I was making the most convincing argument that I could make on behalf of my clients," she said.

　　Monday will be Jackson's easiest on the witness stand. All she has to do is read an opening statement after the senators — 22 of them — make their opening remarks. But Tuesday and Wednesday will be grueling. If the senators all use up their allotted⁴⁷ time, she will be answering questions for more than 18 hours — a marathon.

　　The one saving grace for every nominee is that senators love to talk and the more they do, the less time there is for the nominee to answer. Proving that silence, in a confirmation hearing, truly is golden.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 synonyms   

同义词( synonym的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• If you want to grasp English, you must carefully discriminate synonyms. 如果你想掌握好英语，你必须仔细区分同义词。
• Study the idioms and synonyms l wrote down before your test. 学考试前我给你写的习惯用语和同义字。

3 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

4 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

5 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

6 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

7 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

8 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

9 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

10 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

11 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

12 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

13 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

14 adamantly   

adv.坚决地，坚定不移地，坚强不屈地

参考例句：

• "Come over here,"he told her adamantly. “到这边来，”他对她坚定地说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His family were adamantly opposed to the marriage. 他的家人坚决反对这门亲事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

16 probation   

n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期)

参考例句：

• The judge did not jail the young man,but put him on probation for a year.法官没有把那个年轻人关进监狱，而且将他缓刑察看一年。
• His salary was raised by 800 yuan after his probation.试用期满以后，他的工资增加了800元。

17 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

18 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

19 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

20 strut   

v.肿胀，鼓起；大摇大摆地走；炫耀；支撑；撑开；n.高视阔步；支柱，撑杆

参考例句：

• The circulation economy development needs the green science and technology innovation as the strut.循环经济的发展需要绿色科技创新生态化作为支撑。
• Now we'll strut arm and arm.这会儿咱们可以手挽着手儿，高视阔步地走了。

21 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

23 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

24 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

25 discredit   

vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑

参考例句：

• Their behaviour has bought discredit on English football.他们的行为败坏了英国足球运动的声誉。
• They no longer try to discredit the technology itself.他们不再试图怀疑这种技术本身。

26 prologue   

n.开场白，序言；开端，序幕

参考例句：

• A poor wedding is a prologue to misery.不幸的婚姻是痛苦的开始。
• The prologue to the novel is written in the form of a newspaper account.这本小说的序言是以报纸报道的形式写的。

27 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

28 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

29 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

30 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

31 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

32 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

33 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

34 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

35 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

36 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

37 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

38 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

39 controversies   

争论

参考例句：

• We offer no comment on these controversies here. 对于这些争议，我们在这里不作任何评论。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon. 围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。 来自辞典例句

40 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

41 arcane   

adj.神秘的，秘密的

参考例句：

• The technique at one time was arcane in the minds of most chemists.这种技术在大多数化学家心目中一度是神秘的。
• Until a few months ago few people outside the arcane world of contemporary music had heard of Gorecki.直至几个月前，在现代音乐神秘殿堂之外很少有人听说了戈莱斯基。

42 fodder   

n.草料；炮灰

参考例句：

• Grass mowed and cured for use as fodder.割下来晒干用作饲料的草。
• Guaranteed salt intake, no matter which normal fodder.不管是那一种正常的草料，保证盐的摄取。

43 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

44 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

45 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

46 deflected   

偏离的

参考例句：

• The ball deflected off Reid's body into the goal. 球打在里德身上反弹进球门。
• Most of its particles are deflected. 此物质的料子大多是偏斜的。

47 allotted   

分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I completed the test within the time allotted . 我在限定的时间内完成了试验。
• Each passenger slept on the berth allotted to him. 每个旅客都睡在分配给他的铺位上。