Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson declared that landmark abortion rights cases Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey are "the settled law of the Supreme Court."
During Tuesday confirmation hearing, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., asked President Biden's Supreme Court nominee whether she agreed with Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett that Roe v. Wade is settled as a precedent and has been reaffirmed multiple times, including in the Casey case.
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"I do agree with both Justice Kavanaugh and Justice Barrett on this issue," Jackson said. "Roe and Casey are the settled law of the Supreme Court concerning the right to terminate a woman's pregnancy."
Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks during the second day of her confirmation hearing, Monday, March 21, 2022, to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
"They have established a framework that the court has reaffirmed, and in order to revisit, as Justice Barrett said, the Supreme Court looks at various factors, because stare decisis is a very important principle," she continued. "It provides and establishes predictability, stability. It also serves as a restraint in this way on the exercise of judicial authority because the court looks at whether or not precedents are relied upon, whether they're workable, in addition to whether or not they're wrong, and other factors as well."
Stare decisis is Latin for "let the decision stand," and means respect for judicial precedent. Court nominees routinely profess fidelity to stare decisis, but when they reach the bench, they can rule as they please.
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Asked whether she believes Roe v. Wade has the status of being a "super precedent," Jackson said "all Supreme Court cases are precedential" and "their rulings have to be followed."
Feinstein had also pressed Barrett about her abortion views during her 2020 Supreme Court hearing.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 11, 2020. (Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images)
"Do you agree with Justice Scalia’s view that Roe was wrongly decided?" Feinstein asked Barrett in 2020.
"I completely understand why you are asking the question, but again, I can’t pre-commit or say, 'Yes, I’m going in with some agenda,' because I’m not. I don’t have an agenda," Barrett replied at the time. "I have an agenda to stick to the rule of law and decide cases as they come."
During a break in the hearing, Fox News Digital asked Feinstein whether she was satisfied with Jackson's response, including her decision to not explicitly label Roe. v. Wade as "super precedent."
"Well, she didn't really go into it in any degree," Feinstein said.
Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett poses during a group photo of the justices at the Supreme Court in Washington, April 23, 2021. (Erin Schaff/Pool via Reuters)
"The prior questions were rather harsh," Feinstein added, not naming names, but this was following tough questions from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
"This is a hard place in there when people sit for a long time and take a lot of questions and even some abuse."
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