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3/23/22- US onAir

3/23/22- US onAir 3

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SUPREME COURT … Key moments from Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination hearings – Day 3
PBS NewsHourMarch 24, 2022 (16:51)
SUPREME COURT…Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Supreme Court confirmation hearings – Day 3
PBS NewsHour, March 23, 2022 – 8:00 am (ET)
SUPREME COURT…Takeaways from the marathon Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmation hearing
CNN, Tierney SneedMarch 23, 2022

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s first full day of questioning featured explanations of her approach as a judge, discussions of abstract legal concepts that can be pivotal in controversial Supreme Court cases, and her defense of a sentencing record that Republicans have claimed wasn’t adequately harsh on certain crimes.

Democrats gave Jackson plenty of opportunity to push back on the GOP attacks, while letting her discuss the background that will make her a unique addition to the Supreme Court.

Republicans, who on Monday vowed to take a high-minded tone in the proceedings, nonetheless grilled Jackson on the issues that resonate with their culture war messaging ahead of this year’s midterms.

 

UKRAINE…US formally declares Russian military has committed war crimes in Ukraine
CNN, Jennifer Hansler et al.March 23, 2022

The US government has formally declared that members of the Russian armed forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Wednesday.

The official US declaration that Moscow’s troops had violated the laws of conflict comes after Blinken, President Joe Biden and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman all said it was their personal opinion that war crimes have taken place.

“Today, I can announce that, based on information currently available, the US government assesses that members of Russia’s forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine,” Blinken said in a statement.

“Our assessment is based on a careful review of available information from public and intelligence sources,” he said.

SUPREME COURT…Jackson is handing conservatives one key victory
CNN, Jeffrey ToobinMarch 23, 2022

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is likely to be confirmed as a justice on the US Supreme Court, but her confirmation hearing demonstrates how conservatives are winning the ideological war over the Constitution.

Jackson has preferred to call her approach to interpreting the Constitution a “methodology” rather than a “philosophy,” but the gist of the two terms is similar. Jackson’s description of her approach is consistent with how conservatives have sought to define the judicial role for a generation or two.

She has spoken of the “limited” role of the judiciary and her desire to “stay in (her) lane” as a judge rather than as a legislator. Jackson has said further that she begins her analysis of the Constitution and laws always with the “text.” She has gone out of her way not to embrace a belief in a “living Constitution,” an interpretative method based on the idea that the meaning of the Constitution must be seen in light of changing conditions in society at large.

To people unversed in the history of constitutional debates, these terms may seem uncontroversial, even generic. But they come with a lot of baggage. Conservatives have charged over the years that liberal judges have been “activists” who “legislate from the bench.” The proper role of the judge, according to many conservatives, is to defer to the democratically elected branches of government.

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