Cultural and political dynamics collided with Ketanji Brown Jackson’s professional background, creating a perfect storm for crime to emerge as the dominant theme of confirmation hearings for the first Black female Supreme Court nominee.
Not since the nomination of Thurgood Marshall in 1967 has criminal justice dominated high court confirmation hearings that often revolve around culture war issues like abortion, religious freedom, and gun rights. Criminal issues came up at the high court hearings of former prosecutors Sonia Sotomayor and Samuel Alito to boost their credentials, not shred them.
“It was expected that (Jackson) was going to get more questions ...