Examining 2 days of Senate confirmation hearings for Biden's Supreme Court nominee

Examining 2 days of Senate confirmation¹ hearings for Biden's Supreme² Court nominee³

　　Transcript⁴

　　NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Tomiko Brown-Nagin, dean of Harvard Radcliffe Institute, about Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson's judicial⁵ philosophy.

　　STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

　　Now, as Judge Jackson prepares for another day of testimony⁶, we want to explore how successful she's been so far in answering the questions from her first marathon session on Capitol Hill. Tomiko Brown-Nagin is a legal expert and dean of the Harvard Radcliffe Institute. She joins us now. Welcome.

　　TOMIKO BROWN-NAGIN: Hi, Steve. Nice to be on the show.

　　INSKEEP: How did you think Judge Jackson did?

　　BROWN-NAGIN: I thought she did remarkably⁷ well under really tough questioning. She was composed. She showed that she knows the relevant doctrines⁸ and handled herself, I thought, very well.

　　INSKEEP: I am interested in Susan Davis's report. She was asked about Roe⁹ v. Wade¹⁰. She was asked about the Casey ruling. And she's made a point of answering the same way that a couple of conservative justices have answered, that this is the settled law of the country. There were other occasions in the hearing yesterday, when she did have an opportunity to speak, when she said things that sounded like things a conservative justice could say or a conservative judge could say - for example, that I am here to interpret the law. I'm not here to make new law. Did she establish, in your mind, a judicial philosophy, where she stands in relation to other judges or justices?

　　BROWN-NAGIN: Well, she shied away from embracing the terminology¹¹ philosophy, and I understood her to instead want to focus on methodology. And the reason, she said, is because having spent most of her time as a judge, as a district court judge, she has not review the kinds of cases that require a philosophy in the way that legal scholars and others describe, the kind of arguments that Supreme Court justices engage in. What she has said repeatedly is that her methodology requires her to look at text, at original intent. In fact, she embraced the idea that Scalia's view on originalism has captured everyone's imagination, that we're all originalists now. She talked about precedent¹², and she said that she follows judicial restraint as opposed to judicial activism, which is really what all these questions are about, whether she is an activist¹³.

　　INSKEEP: Well, now that's the difference - right? - between philosophy and methodology, I suppose. If you said you're following a philosophy, you're following your own ideas. By saying methodology, she's saying this is a duty. This is a job. I'm going to read the words on the page and tell you what they mean. Is that right?

　　BROWN-NAGIN: That's very right. The interesting thing is that although she did repeatedly emphasize that she is independent, that she favors restraint, that she hews¹⁴ to precedent, it seemed as if some of the senators did not credit what she was saying repeatedly. And that really went to the reality that these senators are speaking to the American people, to their constituencies. They're trying to draw contrast, even if the nominee is not really giving a basis for doing so - because she's not disagreeing with their perspective in many instances. And so there's a lot of politics, of course, surrounding the nomination¹⁵, the hearing process.

　　INSKEEP: As you likely noticed, a number of the senators acknowledged the historic nature of this hearing. No one who looks like Judge Jackson has ever sat in that particular chair in a hearing like that. How much of a factor has that been, do you think, in this confirmation?

　　BROWN-NAGIN: I would say it's been a factor in two ways. First, the positive dimension is that it is a big, historic moment that is to be celebrated¹⁶ because her presence in that room validates¹⁷ equal workplace opportunity at the U.S. Supreme Court, and it has been a long time coming. At the same time, I did notice Judge Jackson was asked quite a few questions about race and about crime that I hadn't noticed other nominees¹⁸ asked. And so it does seem as if there are some dynamics¹⁹ there that are - see the senators playing to their constituencies and, you know, asking questions about contemporary culture war issues that weren't exactly relevant to the question of whether Judge Jackson has the disposition²⁰ and the knowledge to do a job of the Supreme Court justice.

　　INSKEEP: Tomiko Brown-Nagin is dean of the Harvard Radcliffe Institute and professor of constitutional law at Harvard. Thanks so much for your insights.

　　BROWN-NAGIN: You're welcome.

1 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

2 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

4 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

5 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

6 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

7 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

8 doctrines   

n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明

参考例句：

• To modern eyes, such doctrines appear harsh, even cruel. 从现代的角度看，这样的教义显得苛刻，甚至残酷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His doctrines have seduced many into error. 他的学说把许多人诱入歧途。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

10 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

11 terminology   

n.术语；专有名词

参考例句：

• He particularly criticized the terminology in the document.他特别批评了文件中使用的术语。
• The article uses rather specialized musical terminology.这篇文章用了相当专业的音乐术语。

12 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

13 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

14 hews   

v.（用斧、刀等）砍、劈( hew的第三人称单数 )；砍成；劈出；开辟

参考例句：

• The voice of the Lord hews out flames of fire. 诗29:7耶和华的声音使火焰分岔。 来自互联网

15 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

16 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

17 validates   

v.证实( validate的第三人称单数 )；确证；使生效；使有法律效力

参考例句：

• Other research validates that when it comes to chocolate, type does matter. 其他的研究也证实了不同种类的巧克力确实功效不同。 来自互联网
• Trouble shoots equipment, review and validates data and complete reports. 管理错误描述设备，审查并确认试验数据，完成试验报告。 来自互联网

18 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

19 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。

20 disposition   

n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署

参考例句：

• He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
• He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。