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| President Biden's nominee for SCOTUS, Ketanji Brown Jackson (AP) |
This does not mean that I disrespect the views of the more liberal members of the court. I get where they are coming from. As the late Chaim Weitzman once said about the Arab-Israeli conflict, the fight is about right versus right. In other words good arguments can often be made for both sides of a divisive issue.
The left leaning members of the Supreme Court are not bad people. They are good people whose perspectives on right versus wrong differ from conservatives on certain issues.
Which brings me to President Biden’s nominee for the court, Ketanji Brown Jackson. First let me state unequivocally that I do not believe in ‘affirmative action’ SCOTUS nominees. I get why Biden wants to do that. He wants to see diversity on the court. A noble goal. But race ought never be the criterion for any appointed public service position. The only thing that should be looked at as who is best qualified to fill that position regardless of race, gender, or religion.
Jackson may actually be that person. But that was not Biden’s first consideration. He looked for a black female candidate first. And after limiting the pool that way, he chose who he believed was the best among them..
On the other hand there is always bias in how a nominee is chosen. The political perspective of each nominee is always looked at first. If a liberal President chooses – the nominee will always be chosen from the pool of politically liberal candidates. The same in true in the opposite direction for conservative Presidents. So the most qualified candidate is never the first thing looked at. Political perspective is.
Be that as it may, it is worth looking at Ketanji Brown Jackson’s credentials. Something I was able to do over the weekend via a very informative article about her. Jackson is obviously black and a woman. She is also considered politically liberal. Is she the best of the best? Who knows! But she is surely highly qualified. Her resume includes graduating Suma Cum Laude from Harvard and Cum Laude from Harvard Law School. She clerked for liberal icon, Justice Stephen Breyer who described her as brilliant.
Interestingly, in her role on the Federal Bench she ruled against Trump on one issue but in favor of him on another. To me that indicates judging cases on their merits as she understands them. Not on the politics that might be associated with them or her personal feelings.
Does the fact that she is politically liberal mean she will always vote against the interests of religious rights when they conflict with civil rights? I don’t think the answer is all that clear. Sometimes justices with a given political perspective will vote in ways that seem to be the opposite of that perspective.
What about Jackson’s personal life? Is there anything there that might indicate a bias in favor of black or feminist interests? Is she for example among those that see Black Lives Matter as the guiding principle on issues that pertain to black people? I don’t think so. She is married to a white surgeon. And her husband’s twin brother is married to the sister of former House Speaker, Paul Ryan, a political conservative.
How antagonistic might she be to politically conservative perspectives? I’m sure she will differ with them on most issues. But it will not be reactionary. It will very likely be because of her principled positions, In 2012, her brother in law, Paul Ryan, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that although her politics may differ from his, his praise for her intellect, character, and integrity is unequivocal.
Her integrity was demonstrated back in 2016 when she recused herself from a case involving a lawsuit challenging Department of Education guidelines because at the time she was serving on the board of a university that was evaluating its own response to those guidelines.
What about her relationship with the Jewish community? Is there any reason to fear some sort of latent bias against us? Any fears about that should be stilled by a comment she once made. It was regarding her Jewish high school debate coach. She credits him for helping her learn how to reason and how to write… and for giving her the self confidence to succeed in a world where women and minorities find it difficult to do so.
I for one am encouraged by all of that. While I am happy about the conservative makeup of the current court, I am nonetheless pleased that if approved by the senate another highly principled individual will replace her principled albeit liberal Jewish mentor.