Durbin Delivers Opening Remarks at Fourth Day of Nomination Hearings for Supreme Court Nominee Judge Jackson
Outside witnesses from the American Bar Association testified after giving Judge Jackson a unanimous “Well-Qualified” rating
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered his opening remarks at the fourth day of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. The American Bar Association (ABA) witnesses on the first panel include Judge Ann Claire Williams, the Chair of the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary; D. Jean Veta, Senior Counsel, Covington & Burling, ABA Lead Evaluator; and Joseph Drayton, Partner, Cooley LLP, ABA Lead Evaluator.
Key quotes:
“The last three days [have] been long and exhausting for Senators, and I’m certain much more so for Judge Jackson. I believe she carried herself with grace, humility, and dignity. And she was thoughtful and forthright in her responses.”
“I would be remiss if I didn’t say a special word about my dear friend Judge Williams—an Illinoisan, and the first judge of color to sit on the Seventh Circuit. She was nominated by President Reagan in 1985 to serve on the Northern District of Illinois, and then in 1999 she was nominated by President Clinton—with my strong support—to serve on the Seventh Circuit. After stepping down from the bench in 2017, she joined the Chicago office of Jones Day, where her work focuses on efforts to advance the rule of law in African nations. She is truly respected in the Chicago legal community, and I’m looking forward to hearing from her today.”
“These panelists from the ABA are here to talk about their rating of Judge Jackson—a unanimous rating of ‘Well Qualified.’ The Standing Committee confines its evaluation to the qualities of integrity, professional competence, and judicial temperament. And they unanimously found Judge Jackson—in all of these areas—to be deserving of their highest rating of ‘Well Qualified.’ This comes as no surprise. It’s exactly what we saw in the last few days from Judge Jackson. And I’m looking forward to hearing more about the Standing Committee’s evaluation during this panel.”
Video of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s opening statement is available here for TV Stations.
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