OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Sen. John Kennedy spent five minutes asking one of President Biden’s judicial nominees the same question nine times in a row because she refused to give him a straight answer.
Biden has nominated Anne Traum to become the U.S. district judge for the District of Nevada, and during Thursday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, the Louisiana Republican asked Traum about her beliefs regarding criminal justice.
“Do you think we should forgive criminal misbehavior in the name of social justice?” Kennedy queried.
“Senator, thank you for that question. I recognize that all issues of crime and all responses to crime are fundamentally policy issues. So, those are important issues, they are important for our community and our nation, but I leave those policy issues to the policymakers if confirmed as a judge I would not be a policymaker,” Traum said before Kennedy moved to cut her off.
“I’m not asking your opinion as a judge. I’m asking your opinion as a person, as a law professor. I’ll stipulate, with all of you, that you’re all going to be fair and unbiased. Now, do you think misbehavior and illegal acts should be forgiven in the name of social justice?” Kennedy tried again.
“Senator, I do believe that all criminal policy is fundamentally a policy issue –” Traum began again before the GOP senator interjected once again to ask whether, as a person, she thinks an illegal act should be forgiven in the name of social justice.
“Senator, that is not a view that I have taken in my work,” Traum, a law professor at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, replied.
She was nominated for one of two vacancies that the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts considered an emergency fill. She was chosen by a judicial commission in Nevada consisting of Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen.
“That’s no?” Kennedy said. “Is your answer ‘no?’”
Traum again said that she has not “taken that view” officially.
“I’m asking, professor, what you believe. I think this is really straightforward. Do you believe that an illegal act should be forgiven in the name of social justice. It’s pretty simple,” Kennedy pressed further.
“Senator, I believe that we have criminal laws, criminal laws that are created by policy-making bodies like this one — ” she said before Kennedy interjected again.
“I got all that. Do you believe that a criminal act should be forgiven in the name of social justice?” Kennedy, getting agitated, said.
“We have not only criminal laws but we have a criminal process by which people come before the court to be held accountable if they are charged with a crime. And I have enormous respect for that process,” replied Traum.
“I do too,” Kennedy said. “Do you believe that a criminal act should be forgiven in the name of social justice?”
Traum responded by saying that each individual who appears before a court has a unique case and she “respects that process.”
Kennedy again asked whether a criminal act should be forgiven in the name of social justice.
“I don’t think I could say, with respect to any particular case or as a generality with respect to any category of cases–” Traum said.
“Do you not have an opinion?” Kennedy reasoned.
“I don’t have a view to share on how any particular kind of case should be handled,” Traum replied.
“If confirmed you’re going to be a federal judge. And I join my friend, Sen. Durbin, in saying judicial intemperment is important. But I think being unbiased is even more important,” Kennedy said. “And I find it incredible that you won’t answer my question.”
“So I’m going to ask it again, maybe it’s me,” Kennedy said. “Do you believe that we should forgive a criminal act in the name of social justice?”
“Senator, I share the view that we should be unbiased but I also share the view that our criminal justice system and our process is very individualized so what should happen in any particular case is a matter of the process and the very specific facts and that –” Traum said.
“Do you believe that a criminal act should be forgiven in the name of social justice,” Kennedy pressed once more.
Traum began to respond by saying that a case’s outcome depends on its individual circumstances before the Louisiana Republican again cut her off to ask if she had a favorite color.
“Blue” Traum said, leading Kennedy to quip that he’s gotten at least one straight answer from the nominee.
“I can’t vote for you, not if you’re not going to answer the questions,” Kennedy said. “I mean, that was embarrassing.”
