Ketanji Brown Jackson dodges question on court packing, points to Amy Coney Barrett

At the start of the second day of Jackson’s confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chairman Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, asked her what she thinks about raising or decreasing the number of justices on the nine-member bench. Durbin claimed the “only living senator” who has done so was Sen. Mitch McConnell in 2016, when he blocked former President Barack Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland from the high court.

“Now, that question on court packing was posed to Amy Coney Barrett, justice in the court, when she appeared before this committee. She was asked about it,” Durbin said of the 2020 high court nominee. “She said, I quote, ‘could not opine on it.’ And on many other policy issues, then-Judge Barrett said repeatedly she could not share her views, stating, and I quote, ‘I will not express a view on a matter of public policy, especially one that is politically controversial, because that is inconsistent with the judicial role.'”

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President Joe Biden‘s nominee said, “I agree,” adding: “My North Star is the consideration of the proper role of a judge in our constitutional scheme. And in my view, judges should not be speaking to political issues, and certainly not a nominee for a position on the Supreme Court.”

Following the question from Durbin and response from Jackson, the Senate Republican Communications Center tweeted that Barrett’s response was not actually linked to court packing.

“Judge Jackson cited a nonexistent precedent supposedly set by Justice Barrett at her confirmation hearing but Justice Barrett was NOT ASKED to take a position on court packing,” the group said.

The latter quote cited by Durbin was Barrett’s response to a variety of other questions asked of her during her committee questioning phase, including her declining to take a position on the issue of climate change, a question asked by then-Sen. Kamala Harris.

Ranking Republican committee member Sen. Chuck Grassley subsequently asked Jackson about her view on expanding the court in light of previous comments made by Democratic-appointed Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, whom Grassley cited as detractors of court packing.

“I reiterate that sitting Supreme Court justices have spoken on that matter, so I don’t think it’d be inappropriate for you to do if other people sitting there have said that it’s a bad idea,” Grassley said.

Jackson previously said that she is “acutely aware of the limitations on the exercise of my judicial power,” reiterating that she is “mindful” not to speak on policy issues because “I am committed to staying in my lane of the system.”

Jackson also outlined her “three steps” methodology in formulating her “judicial philosophy,” another question Durbin aimed to ask at the outset of members’ questioning periods, as numerous Republicans have said they would inquire about her judicial framework.

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“The first step is, when I get a case, I ensure that I am proceeding from a position of neutrality,” Jackson said. “This means that, you know, you get a case, and it’s about something, and it’s submitted by certain parties. I am clearing my mind of any preconceived notions about how the case might come out and setting aside any personal views.”

Jackson added that her second step is making sure she’s received all “appropriate inputs for the case,” and thirdly, she ensures proper “interpretation and application of the law to the facts.”