United States: the funny interrogation of the candidate for the Supreme Court

IAxisme, “leftism”, the elected Republicans attacked the African-American magistrate Ketanji Brown Jackson with criticism during the Senate examination of his historic candidacy for the Supreme Court. But an exchange spotted by our colleagues from the newspaper The cross, Wednesday, March 23, seemed particularly pushed. It was initiated by Senator Lindsey Graham, who had recently made headlines by calling for the assassination of Vladimir Putin. “By the way, what religion are you? “, he asserted, simply. Ketanji Brown Jackson answering to be Protestant, he then chained: “Could you fairly judge a Catholic? “Senator, I am used to judging everyone fairly!” » protested the person concerned.

But Lindsey Graham did not seem satisfied with the answer and therefore insisted, asking Ketanji Brown Jackson to rate his faith “on a scale of 1 to 10” before questioning him on his degree of practice of religion. “I am reluctant to speak of my faith in this way, then reacted the magistrate, simply because I am aware of the need for the public to have confidence in my ability to separate my personal point of view. »

A reference to Amy Coney Barrett’s audition

Lindsay Graham was here keen to take revenge on behalf of her party, the Republican Party, referring to the hearing of Amy Coney Barrett, appointed by Donald Trump to the Supreme Court, recalls The cross. A Democratic senator then declared at the time of the confirmation hearing of this one: “Your faith is a dogma which lives noisily in you, it is a concern. “After clearly explaining this reference, Lindsey Graham hastened to clarify in front of Ketanji Brown Jackson: “You should be proud of your faith. I’m sure that whatever faith you have—and how often you go to church—will not affect your ability to be righteous. »

But Lindsey Graham was not the only one to attack the judge. Among Ketanji Brown Jackson’s most virulent detractors, Senator Ted Cruz accused her of having, throughout her career, “advocated for sexual predators” and retained “sentences less than requisitions in 100% of cases of child pornography” submitted to him. The person concerned replied: “If you looked more broadly at the hundred decisions that I made, and those of the other judges […], you would see that we all try to take into account all of the relevant factors to deliver justice on an individualized basis. Flying to his aid, several elected Democrats recalled that at the national level, 70% of the sentences handed down in this type of case were lower than the scales set by Congress.

Beyond his slap on pedophiles, Ted Cruz also hinted that Judge Jackson supports “critical race theory.” In the minds of conservatives, this theory is taught in school and forces white children to see themselves as oppressors and black children as victims. Ultra-conservative Senator Marsha Blackburn for her part sought to know her position on transgender athletes and asked her to define the word “woman”. “I am not a biologist”, soberly replied the candidate.

These passes of arms, in an otherwise rather purring hearing, should not derail the candidacy of Judge Jackson. Appointed by President Joe Biden to the Supreme Court, this brilliant 51-year-old jurist should, unless surprised, get the green light from the Senate in early April and become the first black woman to sit on the highest court in the United States. Beyond the symbol, his arrival, to replace resigning judge Stephen Breyer, will not change the balance within the temple of American law, where the conservatives will keep a solid majority of six seats out of nine.