Cruz Pulls Out White Board To Show SCOTUS Nominee Her Record On Sentencing Child Porn Offenders
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Tuesday pulled out a white board to highlight Biden-picked Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson’s record on sentencing child porn offenders, which has come under fire by other Republicans, including Sen. Josh Hawley (MO).
“Ted Cruz pulls out his white board to illustrate how in child pornography cases, Ketanji Brown Jackson gave the defendants an average 47.2% less sentence than what the prosecutors recommended,” digital strategist Greg Price captioned a clip of the intense exchange on social media.
Cruz noted cases where Jackson gave significantly lighter sentences to convicts than what prosecutors were asking for.
In one case, for example, the judge gave a sentence of 28 months when a prosecutor was asking for 79-97 months, which Cruz noted was a 64% reduction in what was recommended. In another case, a prosecutor asked for 24 months and Jackson imposed a three-month sentence; an 88% reduction in what was recommended.
Cruz highlighted another four cases where Jackson doled out sentences lighter than what prosecutors asked for, which he said averaged out to a 47.2% reduction.
“Every single case, 100% of them, when prosecutors came before you with child pornography cases, you sentenced the defenders to substantially below, not just the guidelines, which are way higher, but what the prosecutor asked for, on average, of these cases, 47.2% less.”
Ted Cruz pulls out his white board to illustrate how in child pornography cases, Ketanji Brown Jackson gave the defendants an average 47.2% less sentence than what the prosecutors recommended. pic.twitter.com/7VUnbdAg2E
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 22, 2022
“A couple of observations,” Jackson responded. “One, is that your chart does not include all of the factors that Congress has told judges to consider, including probation offices’ recommendations in these cases.”
“The committee has not been given the probation offices’ recommendations,” Cruz told Jackson. “I would love to see those, we don’t have access to them.”
“I take these cases very seriously,” Jackson said. “As a mother, as someone who, as a judge has to review the actual evidence in these cases, and based on Congress’ requirement, take into account, not only the sentencing guidelines, not only the recommendations of the parties, but also things like, the stories of the victims, also things like, the nature and circumstances of the events and the history and characteristics of the defendant.”
“Congress is the body that tells sentencing judges what they are supposed to look at,” she continued. “And, Congress has said, that the judge is not playing a numbers game. The judge is looking at all these different factors and making a determination in every case, based on a number of considerations. In every case, I did my duty to hold the defendants accountable in light of the evidence and the information that was presented to me.”
“In 100% of the cases, was the evidence less than the prosecutors asked for?” Cruz pressed.
“Judges have to take into account the personal circumstances of the defendant, because that’s a requirement of Congress,” Jackson answered, adding that she has to “consider things like the victims,” too.
“Well, that does not show victims being heard, with all due respect,” Cruz shot back.
Left-leaning sites like The New York Times have labeled Republicans’ attacks on Jackson’s record on child porn cases “misleading.” In one piece, The New York Times highlights a legal blog from Douglas A. Berman, a law professor from Ohio State University, to support their “fact-check”:
Mr. Berman wrote on his legal blog last week that federal sentencing guidelines for child sexual abuse imagery “are widely recognized as dysfunctional and unduly severe” and that “federal judges nationwide rarely follow them.”
“If and when we properly contextualize Judge Jackson’s sentencing record in federal child porn cases, it looks pretty mainstream,” he wrote.
Here is Judge Jackson’s reply:
“Congress’ requirement take into account, not only the guidelines and recommendations, but also things like the story’s of the victims, the nature and circumstances of the offense…” pic.twitter.com/Qt0UnPSngT
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 22, 2022
In his opening statement, Cruz told Jackson he would not replicate the same “disgraceful behavior” some of his Democratic colleagues displayed during the confirmation hearings of now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. He also assured Jackson the confirmation would not be about her race.
“It’s not about race,” the Texas senator said. “We will see Democrats in the media suggest that any senator that is skeptical of your nomination, that questions you vigorously, or that dares to vote against you must somehow harbor racial animus. If that were the standard, I would note we are sitting on a committee where multiple members of this committee, the senior Democrats in the committee, happily filibustered Judge Janice Rogers Brown, a very qualified African-American woman nominated to the D.C. Circuit. And they did so precisely because they wanted to prevent Judge Brown from becoming Justice Brown, the first African-American woman. Joe Biden was among the Democrats filibustering the first African-American woman nominated the D.C. Circuit.”
WATCH the full exchange, below:
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