A marathon day is ahead for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson

A marathon day is ahead for Supreme¹ Court nominee² Ketanji Brown Jackson

　　Transcript³

　　President Biden's Supreme Court nominee appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee to answer questions from lawmakers in her bid to become the first Black woman on the nation's high court.

　　A MARTINEZ, HOST:

　　A marathon day is ahead for President Biden's Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson. Jackson is expected to spend about 12 hours fielding questions from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. In her opening remarks to lawmakers, Jackson pledged to be independent.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

　　KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: I decide cases from a neutral posture⁴. I evaluate the facts. And I interpret and apply the law to the facts of the case before me without fear or favor.

　　MARTINEZ: NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson has been covering the hearing. Carrie, so what are Democrats⁵ emphasizing about Judge Jackson and her record?

　　CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE⁶: There's a real focus on the trailblazing nature of this nomination⁷. Chairman Dick Durbin of Illinois pointed⁸ out that 115 people have sat on the Supreme Court. But Judge Jackson would be the first Black woman. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey⁹ couldn't contain how happy he was at the sight of Judge Jackson, her parents, her husband, their two daughters. All of them, except for the daughters, really seemed to be on the verge¹⁰ of tears at different points Monday. Here's more from Senator Booker.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

　　CORY BOOKER: It's a sign that we as a country are continuing to rise to our collective cherished, highest ideals. I just feel this sense of overwhelming joy as I see you sitting there, as I see your family sitting behind you.

　　MARTINEZ: Now, Jackson's been on the bench for nearly a decade. What kind of clues about how she would rule on the court did you find in her past decisions?

　　JOHNSON: Well, she's ruled both for and against the government in different cases. There have been almost 600 of them in that tenure¹¹. In one high-profile dispute, she said, presidents are not kings. She said former President Trump¹²'s White House counsel did have to appear before Congress to testify about possible obstruction¹³ of justice. In another case, Judge Jackson turned back a challenge from environmental groups and allowed the Trump administration to proceed with building parts of a wall along the southwest border. Earlier in her career, Jackson was a public defender¹⁴. She handled appeals for people too poor to afford a lawyer, including a detainee at Guantanamo Bay. She also worked on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, which sets federal policies.

　　MARTINEZ: The U.S. Sentencing Commission. That's where Republican senators have focused some of their harshest criticism. What are we likely to hear on that today?

　　JOHNSON: We're going to hear a lot about that, I think. Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri unleashed¹⁵ an argument that Judge Jackson has been too soft on crime, too soft on defendants¹⁶ in several child pornography cases. Here's what he said.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

　　JOSH HAWLEY: What concerns me - and I've been very candid¹⁷ about this - is that in every case, in each of these seven, Judge Jackson handed down a lenient¹⁸ sentence that was below what the federal guidelines recommended and below what prosecutors¹⁹ requested. And so I think there's a lot to talk about there. And I look forward to talking about it.

　　JOHNSON: Hawley's going to dive deeper today. He got some support from Senator Lindsey Graham, who called that issue fair game. But other conservative lawyers say the attack on Judge Jackson is misleading. Andrew McCarthy, who wrote in the National Review, said it was meritless to the point of demagoguery because Josh Hawley, he says, is not distinguishing between the people who produce child pornography and the people who share it online. Now, many legal experts and most federal judges think the penalties for distribution are too harsh. They tend to sentence just the way Judge Jackson did, according to data from the Sentencing Commission.

　　MARTINEZ: Now, Carrie, I'll admit I'm waiting to see how hot the room gets today, you know?

　　(LAUGHTER)

　　MARTINEZ: It's Day 2, after all. So what's the overall outlook, though, for Jackson's confirmation²⁰?

　　JOHNSON: If all 50 Democrats in the Senate stick together, Jackson will be confirmed and make history. The White House had hoped for some bipartisan support, maybe three or four Republicans to cross the aisle²¹. It's just not clear how many she'll attract this time around.

　　MARTINEZ: That's NPR's Carrie Johnson. Carrie, thanks a lot.

　　JOHNSON: My pleasure.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

5 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》

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 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。

8 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

9 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

10 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

11 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

12 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。

13 obstruction   

n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物

参考例句：

• She was charged with obstruction of a police officer in the execution of his duty.她被指控妨碍警察执行任务。
• The road was cleared from obstruction.那条路已被清除了障碍。

14 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。

15 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

17 candid   

adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的

参考例句：

• I cannot but hope the candid reader will give some allowance for it.我只有希望公正的读者多少包涵一些。
• He is quite candid with his friends.他对朋友相当坦诚。

18 lenient   

adj.宽大的，仁慈的

参考例句：

• The judge was lenient with him.法官对他很宽大。
• It's a question of finding the means between too lenient treatment and too severe punishment.问题是要找出处理过宽和处罚过严的折中办法。

19 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。

20 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。

21 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。