BREAKING NEWS: John Kennedy Clashes With Key Biden Judicial Nominee On 'Systemic Racism' Beliefs

uh judge alicon am I saying that right yes Senator okay uh will you allow your personal or political beliefs to affect your decisions no Senator my personal beliefs have never played a role in the positions I took as an advocate nor do they pay a role in the positions I take as a judge when I'm mutually deciding a case okay I'm glad we got that off the table uh let me ask you a few questions about how you view the world um do you believe that minorities need special help to succeed Senator that issue is currently pending before the U.S Supreme Court we just established that you're not going to let your personal opinions affect your decisions you're going to follow Preston absolutely I will follow whatever precedent comes let's talk about your personal opinions which will be irrelevant to to your position on the court do you believe that minorities need special help to succeed Senator again I don't have a personal position and sitting here as a current sitting judge have you thought about that I am aware that we have given preferential treatment it's been subject to a lot of different court cases the issue you agree with that or disagree with it it's not a question senator of whether I agree or disagree you're being confirmed to the federal bench and presumably you're a critically thanking person I'm just asking you what you believe do you may ask you another one more time do you believe that that minorities in America need special help to succeed it's a very simple question Senator to the extent policymakers have enacted laws that provide protections do you agree with those policy makers I am not a policy maker and as a sitting judge you don't have an opinion or you're just not going to answer I don't want to waste more time if you're not going to answer Senator as a sitting judge it is inappropriate for me to comment on my personality we've already established that you're not going to let your personal beliefs interfere with your decisions so I think you ought to tell us what your personal beliefs are is do you believe that the uh do you believe in systemic racism Senator again that's a question for sociologists and academics I take I don't know I have an opinion you never thought about it I take each case as it comes before me on the individual facts what is systemic racism my understanding is that it's a sociological theory that racism plays a systemic role but beyond that I'm not an academic I'm not a sociologist I am a judge and I apply the facts and the law to the cases that come before me right but you don't have an opinion no Senator I do not you have an opinion on anything you'd like to share with us Senator as a sitting judge it's inappropriate for me to comment on any personal views establish the first question I asked you was uh you your view of the world does matter if you never thought about the world if you never thought about these issues you're not qualified to be a federal judge and I think you ought to come here and answer I think all of you should come here and answer them forthrightly if I ask you let me ask you one last question and I will quickly Mr chairman do you believe you're you said on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals is the District of Columbia Court of Appeals systemically racist Senator as a sitting judge I think it would be inappropriate for me to comment I can say all of my colleagues take the cases open-mindedly and it's like a systemically racist I I don't think that it is Senator but I also don't know if I'm qualified to give that type of assessment will you sit on the court right I think all of my colleagues take their cases with an open mind without any Prejudice and Faithfully applied a lot well I'm disappointed you won't answer my questions but I thank the chairman for giving me the time the extra time thank you Senator Kennedy Senator Roanoke

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Length: 4min 3sec (243 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 07 2023