Tucker Carlson spent some time Wednesday night complaining about Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson. But in what feels like an increasingly common theme among her critics, about all he could really muster was a gripe that Biden, who’s called Jackson one of the country’s “top legal minds,” won’t make her LSAT results public.
No, really. Here’s what he said:
“So is Kentaji Brown Jackson, a name that even Joe Biden has trouble pronouncing, one of the top legal minds in the entire country? We certainly hope so. Biden is right, appointing her is his one of his gravest constitutional duties. So it might be time for Joe Biden to let us know what Ketanji Brown Jackson’s LSAT score was. Wonder how she did on the LSAT. Why wouldn’t he tell us that? That would settle the question conclusively as to whether she’s a ‘once-in-a-generation’ legal talent, the next Learned Hand. It would seem like Americans in a democracy have a right to know that and much more before giving her a lifetime appointment, but we did not hear that.”
Check out the video clip:
Ivy League attendance does not guarantee Ivy League attendance. Intelligent people are automatically smarter, but for what it’s worth, Jackson attended Harvard AndHarvard Law School. Harvard magna laude and Harvard Law cum laude graduates.
We’re not sure why Tucker Carlson wants to see her LSAT results though. The LSAT — the Law School Admissions Test — is only required for admission to law school. It does not have any other effect on whether an applicant is accepted to law school. Jackson passed her LSAT in Harvard Law after she graduated in the top 5%.
Which is to say, we would learn absolutely nothing about Jackson’s legal qualifications from seeing her LSAT results, other than that she passed a test required to even go to law school. While many people are able to pass the LSAT with ease, few actually go on to be lawyers.
Tucker Carlson might think the LSAT test is what you need in order to get into college. PracticeIn which case, he is actually thinking of the Bar Exam. Jackson was able to continue practicing law for companies based in Massachusetts, New York, Washington, D.C., California, before she was appointed a federal judge in 2012. Jackson likely had to take multiple bar exams. Ask any lawyer you know how simple it is to pass the bar exams. That is. (It’s not.)
Anyway, one last thing: Learned Hand (1872 – 1961) was a real guy, a hugely admired lawyer and judge notable as one of the most frequently quoted lower court judges among legal scholars and by Supreme Court justices. While Learned was his middle title, his real name was Billings. He was also a legal pioneer, but he understood the power and importance of branding long before public relations was even a career choice.