[background sounds]. >> following the senate judiciary committee, the chairman durbin and republican committee members marsha blackburn, spoke on the senate floor about supreme court nominee judge ketanji brown jackson. >> the person last week senate judiciary committee which i chair to help the hearing of judge ketanji brown jackson to serve as associate justice in the u.s. supreme court it was an opportunity to learn a lot about her, her qualifications, her experience, her approach to cases, her judicial temperament

and temperament before the committee she proved to the public what many of us suspected than some new, she's without a doubt ready to serve on the supreme court. in a spoken to you before about judge ketanji brown jackson's background in the qualifications and it repeating it because this is the critical week before we consider her nomination next week on the floor the senate she's the daughter of two schoolteachers, public school teachers, and judge ketanji brown jackson, her passion for the law at the age of four, her dad decided to give up teaching, he had another profession in mind, he was would become a lawyer predict and so he would sit at the kitchen table with his law books all stacked up and judge ketanji brown jackson at the age of forward together or covering the books and sit next to her daddy, is going to study as well and she believes that might've been the first time

that she felt seriously about becoming a lawyer and after graduating from public school in miami, she had distinguished herself as president of the student body and is the lead on the high school speech and debate team and she competed nationally successfully and visited the campus of harvard university, she loved it and she decided this was going to apply to go to school there were she went back to her high school in florida, she said out of the counselor to talk about that option and counselor discourage her, she was a big two by but she did it anyway and she was accepted and then went on to harvard law school she has clerked every level of the federal judiciary, not a lawyer that may not mean much but if your lawyer, that is a big deal. i think that she started off as they lowest federal district court level, clucking for ag judge, then she was accepted to

move a political to the circuit judge position, serve as a clerk as well, and then finally, rob goldring, having a supreme court clerk if none other than justice stephen breyer, whose vacancy she is hoping to fill she worked in private practice as a lawyer, and she proved she was a consensus builder, all the way along on them and she served as a district judge now circuit court in the dc circuit has no surprise that she's won the admiration of the friendship of so many people throughout her career. in fact, she's come before the senate judiciary committee on three separate occasions with her background carefully reviewed and merged with the approval of the committee with bipartisan support. in fact when you look at this new watch last week's hearing before the digit judiciary committee, nobody questioned her

qualifications are knowledge and experience she really has a platinum is made when it comes to. the final day of the hearing from the committee heard from ann williams, well known, she served in the northern district of illinois then as a circuit in the seventh circuit and only that she is first african-american woman do so and she is now retired at this point but she has volunteered with the abrupt and murky bar association to do the careful review of judge ketanji brown jackson and make certain that we know every comment that is been made by professionals who been familiar with her work experience. judge williams' anomaly politically, as were looking at for evidence of whether she is democrat or republican, she is initially pointed to the district court by president reagan and into the circuiten

court fight president clinton in a bipartisan nominee all the way and she came to report to the committee that judge ketanji brown jackson, has been reviewed with careful personal interviews of 250 separate individuals in her legal career emerged unanimously well qualified to serve on the supreme court and judge williams said that in and interviewing these and judges, the sr questions, the ones that you can ask in confidence and in private and answers were all the same predict judge ketanji brown jackson has a career that is distinguished as outstanding and excellent superior superb, mostf accolades go on and on and how that judge ketanji brown jackson has a sterling reputation with thoughtfulness and exceptional confidence. i also asked judge williams, serving as a spokesperson as the aba the comment on the

allegations that the judge judge ketanji brown jackson is somehow soft on crime, that's coming from the otherth side of the i/o it's common aggressive asking tutor 50 different judges prosecutors and defense lawyers, and all of the people who worked with and around her, was there any evidence he was soft on crime they said no, no, none. that's amazing when you think that's the number-one talking tpoint against her from the republican side of the il and none whatsoever is whatot judge williams said in another nest jean - said that maybe heard consistently from not only the defense counsel, but from the prosecutors about unbiased judge ketanji brown jackson was throughout her career and just as impressive as requalification was her performance and candor for the senate judiciary

committee and u.s. were questioned about something she will start by responding by defining it in plain english just make sure everybody at home, lawyer or nonlawyer follow along and she expresses rethinking with surgeon like precision, to ensure that her husband at doctor patrick johnson, whose actual surgeon, georgetown hospital greatly admires the clarity and impartiality predict that is judge ketanji brown jackson and during the hearing several of my colleagues asked her to describe her judicial philosophy and big label, are you originally start touchless or a liberal or conservative and previous supreme court nominees chiefs under chief justice roberts sai they did not have an overarching judicial philosophy that they bring to a case that was a good enough answer for many republicans that it was given by chief justice roberts order justice amy county marriage but they complained out that she

just won't come up with an admit to a label predict she did one better, she gave us a thorough step-by-step explanation of how she decided the case, every case that she has 580 separate opinions and you don't need luck front microscope to find the judges judicial philosophy she's published it over and over and over again establish her independence she said, by quote clearing her mind if any preconceived notion when she is case since aside your personal views and evaluates the facts and listens to the arguments and then she interprets and applies the law keeping in mind the limits of judicial authority and what i just described is what she told the committee and that's exactly what we look for and should look for in every judge and i cannot recall ever hearing anomaly give us more clear and thorough explanation of their approach to deciding the case and judge ketanji brown

jackson evenhanded record of so many different issues criminal law labor relations executive powers, shows that w it works ad finally judiciary committee hearing about the public to observe a nice incredible temperament we spent a lot of time as suitors the authority of the constitution to advise and consent, interviewing nominees for courts, andrm trying to determine just what kind of a judge they will be and what wilb their temperament be, all sworn a big headed over this lifetime appointment or will they remember the real-life experiences many people in the courtroom havepe lived through while i can tell you, that judge ketanji brown jackson's temperament has shown through, and frankly sheai was tested tie and again. and some senators do not show a very good temperament themselves under these circumstances and they tested her over and over s

again with baseless while charges some of which is offensive and i listened to those and i would look up and i would think, if she stands up at this point and says that's enough i'm taking my family i'm going home, nobody would've halted her for that and some questions were just that bad but she did not in my republican colleagues, severe and respectful hearing and the majority of them starting with senator ashley did just that and i commended them for it today and committee pretty set an example of minority party with the supreme court nominee and how the questioning should come down and then forcefully others however on this side of the table didn't not but in the face of constant badgering and interruptions, then insinuation by a select few republicans, judge ketanji brown jackson never lost her composure, never, she waswa patient, calm and dignified.

many times the questions were so mean-spirited and there since her husband's and daughter listing hint to help she is often crime andt doesn't care about children anything about that, what they must think of to hear those things said about the doctor's wife and his mother, it's hard to take, she was patient called and she did not lose her temper at one time predict some of my colleagues attended the hearing intent on turning noted did not working since she showed america she rise to anyre challenge on the justice supreme court and despite these behaviors, last week was an inspiration for so many people across this country, i invited law students from howard university and other places to come over and sit through the hearing and i invited in terms of the congressionalau black caucus and they wanted to be there at this history making moment.

they watch her proven that through hard work, commitment to the law, in the words of senator booker, her grit and her grace, she has earned a seat in the highest course of the land predict and i strongly urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisles of what she will bring to the court that it is time ameria after all these years, never having had african-american 100 women serve on the court, it's a challenge and find somebody who is ready to take on the job and take on that challenge and she can beat that challenge and will so successfully and she's the best and deserves our support. >> well before we gaveled into last week supreme court confirmation hearing, the mainstream media, they have made it clear what they have proved narrative was going to be and according into the - supposed to talk about what a historical moment in pleasant weather story get nominee judge ketanji brown