On Monday, Mar. 28 the Senate Judiciary Committee postponed its vote on Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, until Monday, Apr. 4. The Republicans who sought the delay stated they are missing confidential sentencing records to help them evaluate Jackson’s record. Meanwhile, Democrats are pushing for a final vote before the senate’s Easter recess.
As a Black woman, Jackson faced many obstacles in the education system ever since she was a young girl. While it is well-known that she attended Harvard University, when she first brought it up to her high school guidance counselor, she was told to not set “her sights so high.” Despite this, she still attended her dream school and graduated magna cum laude.
Jackson’s experience in the legal system allows her to be a qualified nominee for the Supreme Court. She has served as a Supreme Court Clerk, public defender, Vice-Chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Jackson would be the first former public defender to join the Supreme Court.
After the four days of confirmation hearings for Jackson, it is clear that polarization among the Democrats and the Republicans exists, showing itself in their opinions about her.
The Democrats are hoping for a bipartisan confirmation of Jackson as the majority of them support President Biden’s nomination. Democrat Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey made Jackson tear up as he told her “you are worthy.”
The Republicans have an entirely different stance on Jackson as some of the senators, like Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, made clear. On Mar. 31, Senator Graham tweeted, “I oppose and will vote against the nomination of Judge Jackson to the Supreme Court.”
The confirmation process has become a partisan exercise where each party exhibits its ideologies through the hearings. Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee asked questions like “Can you provide a definition for the word ‘woman’?” to bring up her view on transgender rights. The political polarization that shone through in the hearings goes deeper than a red versus blue debate.
The G.O.P.’s hostile interrogation of Jackson has been as controversial as the Democrats’ hostile interrogation of Trump’s nominees. The vicious attack toward Jackson from the Republicans stems from them seeking revenge for the way that Democrats interrogated Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings in 2018. Democrats repeatedly tried to adjourn or postpone Justice Kavanaugh’s hearings, and even went as far to say that in his prior confirmation hearings for the appeals courts in 2004 and 2006, he gave untruthful testimonies under oath.
It is clear that bipartisanship is becoming increasingly more difficult to attain as Republicans and Democrats continuously push back on the opposing party’s agenda. Jackson’s confirmation hearings are another of many examples of the division that exists in the nation.
Over the years, the confirmation time length of judges into the court has changed. “Of the 115 people who’ve served on the court throughout its history, more than half (61) were confirmed within 10 days of their nominations.” However, now the average time length from nomination to confirmation is 54.4 days. The greater time gap leaves more space for the division of ideologies to create controversial confirmation hearings.
The recent history of the Supreme Court nominations further exemplifies the polarized environment that is impacting the court. In 2016, Obama’s lame-duck nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court to fill in former conservative Justice Antonin Scalia’s vacant spot was widely rejected by the Republican senators. This intended to keep Scalia’s seat away from the liberals and give the appointment to a more conservative person.
Senate Republicans managed to keep the Supreme Court seat vacant for over one year. Ultimately, the vacant spot was filled by Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was nominated by Donald Trump in 2017. From Justice Scalia’s death to the confirmation of Justice Gorsuch, there was a 422-day vacancy–a new record for the long vacancy since Congress established a nine-justice court.
Clearly, political polarization is having strong effects on every aspect of the government, including the part of the government that is nonpartisan: the judicial branch. While it is evident that change in the system is necessary to reduce polarization, the question is, what should be done? One of the ways that we can reduce polarization is to call out the parties. It is time for the public to stand vocally against polarization so that politicians and ideological leaders can begin to change their behavior. The change that can happen lies in the power of the public.
