Hawley, Jackson face off over sentencing

(23 Mar 2022) Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson faced a barrage of Republican questioning Wednesday about her sentencing of criminal defendants, as her history-making bid to join the Supreme Court veered from lofty constitutional questions to attacks on her motivations as a judge.
In more than 12 hours of testimony on Tuesday, and long into the day on Wednesday, GOP senators aggressively questioned her on, among other things, the sentences she has handed down to child pornography offenders.
"Let me ask you about the Hawkins case," queried Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri.
"This is a case where you had an 18 year old who possessed and distributed hundreds of images of eight year olds and nine year old and 10 year olds, and you gave him, frankly, a slap on the wrist of three months. Do you regret it?" Hawley asked.
"In every criminal case, a judge has to take into account all sorts of factors, including arguments being made by the defendant, by the government, by the probation office," Jackson explained.
The focus on her sentencing was part of a larger effort by the committee's Republicans - several of whom are potential presidential candidates - to characterize Jackson's record, and her judicial philosophy, as too empathetic and soft on criminals who commit the worst offenses. It was also part of an emerging emphasis on crime in GOP midterm election campaign.
The government asked for enhancements related to pre-pubescent children related to the nature of these images," Hawley said a short time later.
"Why didn't you apply the enhancements as they were asked for?" He asked.
"Senator, I've answered this question many times from many senators who've asked me, so I'll stand on what I've already said," Jackson said.

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