Season 2, Episode 14 (Show 66): Graham Crock-er

April 5, 2022

The Senators and the Judge took the stage in the Jackson Confirmation Hearings; we listen to them and dissect their statements and performances with a “constitutional eye.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee hearings have concluded, as has the committee vote.  We put the Senators, and the Judge, back on the stage.  We listen to them and comment.  What do we know now about the Judge, and about the Senators, in terms of their view of their respective constitutional roles, and their constitutional views?  Their own words are replayed, and then Akhil and Senate expert Vik Amar critique them – and educate us.  Oh, and Lindsay Graham had something to say.

Show Notes:

Misunderstanding Standing - David P. Currie

Professor David P. Currie from the University of Chicago writes in the Supreme Court Review, 1982, on issues surrounding standing that reveal a great deal more complexity than Senator Cruz implied by his questioning of Judge Jackson, and which demonstrates why she was right to tread lightly in response.

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America's Lived Constitution - Akhil Reed Amar

Professor Amar writes in the Yale Law Journal on “America’s Lived Constitution,” a detailed inquiry into unenumerated rights that reveals once again the complexity and clarity of the subject, avoiding the pitfalls that might cause the Senate Q&A with Judge Jackson to mislead. YLJ 120:1734 (2011).

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“Judge Jackson’s Brilliant Answer” - Balkinization

Professor Philip Bobbitt notes the intricacy and insight in Judge Jackson’s apparently simple answer on her judicial philosophy in this post on the legal blog, “Balkinization.”  Of course, Akhil commented on this during the podcast, when he termed Judge Jackson’s response “a very Bobbitt answer.”

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