Supreme Court Candidate Judge Kentanji Brown Jackson Tears Up As Sen. Cory Booker Gives Passionate Courtroom Speech: You Have Earned This Spot, You Are Worthy

March 24, 2022 by Roganí Araya in Politics with 0 Comments

Cory Booker, Ketanji Brown Jackson

Supreme Court Candidate Judge Kentanji Brown Jackson Tears Up As Sen. Cory Booker Gives Passionate Courtroom Speech: You Have Earned This Spot, You Are Worthy

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. gave a moving speech during Supreme Court hopeful Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

Booker spoke about the turbulent history of black Americans. At one point, he defended Jackson’s past sentencing choices, which were scrutinized by the GOP. Prior to Booker receiving the floor, Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri accused Jackson of going easy on child pornography defendants.

Booker called out Hawley and his colleagues, stating:

“I mean, this is a new low. What’s especially surprising about this is it didn’t happen last year [when Jackson was nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit]. You were put on a court that I’m told is considered like the second most powerful court in our land. And you were passed with bipartisan support. Nobody brought it up then. Did they not do their homework?”

Jackson couldn’t help but shed a few tears as Booker praised and reassured her. He stated:

“It’s hard for me not to look at you and not see my mom. Not to see my cousins, one of them who had to come here and sit behind you. She had to have your back. I see my ancestors and yours,”

He continued:

“But don’t worry, my sister. Don’t worry. God has got you. And how do I know that? You’re here, and I know what it’s taken for you to sit in that seat. You have earned this spot. You are worthy. You are a great American.”

Booker, who made history as the fourth black U.S. Senate member, compared Jackson to Harriet Tubman:

“I thought about her. And how she looked up, she kept looking up no matter what they did to her she never stopped looking up. And that star was a harbinger of hope,”

He added:

“Today, you’re my star. You are my harbinger of hope. This country’s getting better and better and better. And when that final vote happens, and you ascend on to the highest court in the land, I’m going to rejoice.”