The Good News: Grace Under Pressure
Today, we heard testimony from outside witnesses. In the first panel, members of the American Bar Association (ABA), Standing Committee presented the results of an independent, nonpartisan, and comprehensive peer review of Judge Jackson’s record.
The ABA unanimously gave Judge Jackson its highest professional rating of “Well Qualified,” finding she “easily satisfies the highest standards of integrity, professional competence, and judicial temperament.” The praise from judges and lawyers throughout the country was notable:
Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, kicked off the hearing’s second panel with the following words: “Watching Judge Jackson sit at this very table, displaying, poise, grace, courage, and brilliance, no matter what was thrown at her, reminds me of the sheroes whose shoulders she stands on, from Ida B. Wells, to Rosa Parks, to Constance Baker Motley.”
Other panelists included Risa Goluboff, dean of the University of Virginia School of Law, Wade Henderson, President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and Captain Frederick Thomas, from the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement. Captain Thomas, who called her “eminently qualified,” spoke about Judge Jackson’s law enforcement family and her track record as a fair, evenhanded judge; he noted that “it is our opinion that her deep familiarity with the complexities, challenges, and opportunities within law enforcement provides perspective on criminal justice issues that can be an asset to the Supreme Court.”
Towards the end of the hearing, Republican Senator Thom Tillis praised Judge Jackson and said he found it “hard to believe that anybody on my side of the aisle would disagree with that.”
