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Legal Experts Testify on Final Day of Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings 


From left, D. Jean Veta, Ann Claire Williams and Joseph Drayton of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary testify at the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 24, 2022.
From left, D. Jean Veta, Ann Claire Williams and Joseph Drayton of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary testify at the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 24, 2022.

On the fourth and final day of confirmation hearings for U.S. President Joe Biden's nominee to the U.S Supreme Court, legal experts praised Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, saying she was well qualified to serve on the nation's highest court.

The testimony from the American Bar Association and other experts came after two days of questioning from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and wrapped up about 30 hours of hearings on Jackson's nomination.

In her testimony, the ABA's Ann Claire Williams, who leads the organization's committee that makes recommendations on federal judges, said virtually everyone they interviewed described Jackson as "outstanding, excellent, superior, superb."

Senate Republicans spent much of their time Tuesday and Wednesday trying to make the case that Brown was soft on crime. Witnesses invited by Republicans to testify Thursday, including Alabama Attorney General Steven Marshall, echoed their charges.

When asked about that charge, the ABA's Williams said not one of the 250 judges they interviewed about Jackson mentioned that as an issue.

The four-hour hearing Thursday featured not only legal experts but government officials and civil rights groups who supported Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to the court, as well as other conservative advocates who opposed her.

The Senate committee is expected to vote on Jackson's nomination by April 4. Democrats are hoping to hold a final confirmation vote by Easter, in mid-April, when the Senate leaves for a two-week break.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.

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