The Democrat-backing “fact checkers” of PolitiFact jumped to the defense of Ketanji Brown Jackson by slapping conservative Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee with two negative verdicts on Tuesday.
First, Tom Kertscher rated Blackburn “False” and in a headline said she was “It is wrong” on Jackson’s citation of critical race theory in sentencing.
Our ruling
Blackburn said that Jackson, 2015, “Gave a lecture discussing critical race theory as part of what you should consider when you make decisions on the bench.”
Jackson’s topic was sentencing policy and not judges making decisions at the bench. Sentence policy, she said, is intellectually interesting because it “melds together myriad forms of law,” along with critical race theory and negotiation.
We rate Blackburn’s statement False.
Huh? Isn’t sentencing a crucial part of judges making decisions on the bench? Obviously, Judge Jackson’s alleged leniency in sentencing is a vital part of these hearings. Kertscher translated it as follows:
I also make it a point to show my students how sentencing matters intellectually. melds together myriad types of law — criminal law, of course, but also administrative law, constitutional law, critical race theory, negotiationsAnd, in some cases, contracts.”
Blackburn had a right to say that Jackson spoke of CRT “a component to be considered” when he mentioned it on the bench.
Amy Sherman also performed a “fact-check”, tagging Blackburn “Mostly False”, based on the COVID-triggered release of prisoners.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson advocated that “each and every criminal defendant in D.C. Corrections custody should be released.”
Blackburn actually quoted Jackson exactly:
Individuals who are detained at District correctional facilities face an obvious increase in risk from the COVID-19 pandemic. reasonably suggests that each and every criminal defendant who is currently in D.C. DOC custody — and who thus cannot take independent measures to control their own hygiene and distance themselves from others — should be released,” Jackson wrote.
Sherman had accused Blackburn of cherry picking. Blackburn then spun the memo as: “That would be 1,500 criminals back in the street if that was your will.”
Jackson went on to lament “the unfortunate current state of affairs is that the judiciary is limited in the steps that it can take to respond to the legitimate and pressing COVID-19-related concerns that myriad defense counsel have raised,” but also that they would have to consider flight risk and dangers to the community.
Sherman cited a Congressional Research Service report that highlighted prisoners that Jackson ruled against releasing, and concluded:
Blackburn’s statement Suggestions that Jackson released all inmates who came before her en masse, and that’s wrong.
Jackson denied some inmates’ requests for release and granted other ones, taking into account factors such as the likelihood they would reoffend and whether they would comply with conditions of release.
We give this statement a 5 star rating It is mostly false.
Sherman responds to Blackburn’s spin with counterspin, not just facts. Blackburn believes Jackson is the one who spins. WantedThey all must be released, and not just one. didAll of them.
Blackburn suffered a double hack attack. There are currently no PolitiFact assessments of Judge Jackson’s statements. For the record: Four Democratic senators have still not been subject to PolitiFact fact checks. They are Tom Carper (Martin Heinrich), Mazie Hirono and Ben Ray Lujan.
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