"I Don't Understand"

Each Justice has his or her own unique style of asking questions at oral argument. Justice Jackson, as this video relays, says "I don't understand" and "I'm trying to understand" quite a lot.

???? INBOX: If there's one thing we know about Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson this term - it's that she doesn't understand.

INCREDIBLE VIDEO pic.twitter.com/DQQ3q1mA8Q

— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) June 25, 2025

Comments

[Sarcastr0]

INCREDIBLE VIDEO

Didn’t think I’d see comfortably smug back on twitter after his behavior in Hurricane Sandy.

[LexAquilia]

I wonder why he didn't ask your permission before returning?

[Supremacy Claus]

Didn't this DEI attend Harvard Law School? When asked, what is a woman, shouldn't the correct lawyer answer be, " 135 times the Supreme Court has ruled that the definition of a word is its dictionary defintion. A woman is a human adult female." Why is that hard to understand?

[Supremacy Claus]

I don't understand about how this video was put together. Did someone spend hours reviewing all the recordings, or did AI retrieve all these passages in 30 seconds? Help me to understand.

[David Nieporent]

See, when you use the phrase "I don't understand," it's best to interpret that literally.

[Drewski]

I know "don't feed the trolls" is both cliche and frequently futile, but with Behar *specifically* if he stops getting replies he starts spamming up the place until he gets banned. I don't think he can help it.

[Supremacy Claus]

Drew, I was banned by Volokh for excessive comment branching. That need has been relieved by the Edit function. I donated $500 to Reason, and requested it. In your personal remark, you commit The Fallacy of Irrelevance.

[Supremacy Claus]

David, can you share how this video was put together with the class?

[bye]

True, you don't understand (yes, not so clever pun of yours) but if you watched her at all this would not surprise you. Lexis and KWIC and voila

[David Nieporent]

No, that would not be "the correct lawyer answer."

[bye]

I have said this for a long time. But she is nothing compared to Sotomayor. my heavens
1) she stated that bumpstocks can enable AR-15s to fire 800 rounds per second
2) During Covid : “We have over 100,000 children, which we’ve never had before, in serious condition, and many on ventilators.”

At the time Sotomayor spoke, fewer than 5,000 people under the age of 18 were hospitalized in the US with confirmed or suspected cases of Covid-19; the reported number of child hospitalizations was 4,464 on Thursday, the day before the hearing

THIS IS INDEFENSIBLE AND HATEFUL

Back again, who can forget : giving hormones to 'trans kids' is like taking aspirin <==== She said that with a straight smug face

1'44" mark on this
https://youtu.be/uM_RAmVP3PY

No wonder hobie attacks Clarence and Alito , he has to

[David Nieporent]

Hurricane Sandy? That was 13 years ago; he's been on Twitter this whole time. And what behavior do you mean?

[Sarcastr0]

I had to look it up, but for some reason that drama stick in my head and I never saw him posting after it,

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2012/10/sandys-biggest-twitter-troll-apologizes.html

[LexAquilia]

A 13 year old rando post? Seek help.

[grb]

I used to have this operative theory : (1) If you take any issue involving Black people, and (2) the Black people involved are not MAGA pets, then (3) you can see virulent racist hate is still pervasive & strong just by checking Fox News comments.

Justice Jackson was one example. After her initial term, Fox wrote a perfectly reasonable, rational, and balanced story on her first months as a Justice. But the comments were another story, heavily featuring "gorillas" as the MAGA go-to trope.

I expect those commenters would feel right at home with Blackman's post here. I'm sure Blackman wrote it with them in mind. I'm expecting all the usual suspects will let their ugliest freak flag fly in response.

[LexAquilia]

Can you share with us why you think blacks are too stupid to get a picture ID when it's practically a requirement of modern living?

[Supremacy Claus]

GRB. Racism is folk statistics, mostly true, most of the time. It also changes in time. Very dark African immigrants outperformed whites in the 2010 Census. Now, there is a new racial setereotype. If you want a top performer, find an African immigrant. They are the new Koreans, as a stereotype.

Someone I worked for was bitching about turnover and about poor performance. Turnover costs 175% of salary. I could see my raises going out the window. I said, go African, in stereotype. Then, network, get their families and friends to come work here.

No more bitching. Africans come from intact patriarchal families. They are Christians. They love America, having experienced the alternative. They will likely sweep up all racial prefrences, despite being culturally and genetically advantaged. They disprove all allegations of racism since they are far darker in skin than Blacks from the South. These may have a lot of DNA from the British Isles. Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., of the show Finding Your Roots, is problably half Irish and British.

The USA is not racist. It is selfish. It asks what can you do for me, and not how melanated is your skin.

[Malika the Maiz]

It’s a pretty standard libertarian answer that regulatory burdens will fall hardest on populations not used to dealing with them and the agencies involved. I go the same grocery store, doctor’s office and liquor store, I’ve shown my ID about three times in the past five years.

[Bubba Jones]

I can't remember the last time I had to show my ID that wasn't a TSA checkpoint or a voting booth.

[AmosArch]

I have another theory. Leftists are projecting whenever they accuse people of racist/sexism etc. Just look at what they say about Thomas. Its a mirror image of the stereotypical pop culture racist spread by left wing sources. Emphasizing his supposed unintelligence/sex crazed nature more than they would a white conservative. Same for women. Criticism of conservative women takes on a more sexualized nature with often outright lewd mockery or sometimes emphasizing the bossiness of the conservative women who are stepping out of their rightful place..

[Sarcastr0]

Your theory is hey the left is also bad?

Shitty theory dude.

[Lee Moore]

I’m not sure you’ve cracked the idea of “projection.”

[ObviouslyNotSpam]

Do you have anything at all to say about libertarians?

Or have you completely erased us from your world view?

[Lee Moore]

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to have a general impression of how dogs behave and how cats behave without feeling the need to study up on how pandas behave.

Life is short and one can hardly investigate every tiny cult.

[ObviouslyNotSpam]

I was only asking because you were posting here.

[Kazinski]

I can't deny a lot of people actually seem to be proud to display breathtaking ignorance and prejudice against Blacks.

"Right now, we have young Black kids growing up in the Bronx who don’t even know what the word computer is. They don’t know, they don’t know these things,”

- Some Governor

[Malika the Maiz]

Dude, “it’s all computer!”

[bye]

This is you deflecting from Sotomayor and Kagan again

1) she stated that bumpstocks can enable AR-15s to fire 800 rounds per second
2) During Covid : “We have over 100,000 children, which we’ve never had before, in serious condition, and many on ventilators.”

At the time Sotomayor spoke, fewer than 5,000 people under the age of 18 were hospitalized in the US with confirmed or suspected cases of Covid-19; the reported number of child hospitalizations was 4,464 on Thursday, the day before the hearing

THIS IS INDEFENSIBLE AND HATEFUL

Back again, who can forget : giving hormones to 'trans kids' is like taking aspirin <==== She said that with a straight smug face

1'44" mark on this
https://youtu.be/uM_RAmVP3PY

[JoeFromtheBronx]

That Lieutenant Columbo seems a bit dim. I'm not concerned.

[davidk]

Exactly. Everyone knows this is polite/corporatespeak for "you're talking BS".

[Purple Martin]

Oh, just one more thing, sir. Uh, I was thinking... in banks, they always have two cameras that cover any area. No offense, but I don't understand why you went to all this trouble to put in this system, but you only put in one camera...

[Joe_dallas]

"Justice Jackson, as this video relays, says "I don't understand" and "I'm trying to understand" quite a lot."

Who cares about something so trivial!

[thenotoriousrbg]

isn't it good for Justices to ask clarifying questions rather than sitting back silent like Thomas was famous for, assuming he knows it all?

[Joe_dallas]

Showing your bias - every justice has their quirks. Nothing to read into eithers behavior, neither of which is positive or negative.

[bye]

Joe,some logic. you don't deny that there are positive and negative behaviors and if that is manifested in a minority it is by defintion a quirk.
3 things you miss
1) To use that phrase so often is a sign of laziness and poor habit.
2) Her rulings show in many cases nothing was actually clarified
3) A person intelligent and educated in the law would not seek answers in clarifications by the plaintiff !!! You know the law and you have the particulars of the case, you should have questions about the law directed to the plaintiff and not questions about the case (not puzzling most other justices at all)

[bye]

YOu interpret your own example exactly opposite !!!
Thomas is silent because he knows the law and the clarifications on data by the others are enough. You yourself tacitly concede that by not criticizing the other Justices.
What a childish and silly person you are. I will charitably take you to be under 19 .

[Bob from Ohio]

"Who cares about something so trivial!'

Nobody cares. Its just fun to mock Ms. I'm not a Biologist!.

[Joe_dallas]

I not going to mock her on something so trivial when there are much more solid basis for criticism such has her moore concurrence.

[David Nieporent]

The one you still haven't read, let alone understood.

[Social Justice is neither]

It is the constant reinforcement that someone so stupid they don't know what a woman is in fact is stupid and doesn't understand anything at all. This lowest common denominator elevation across all society is the goal of all equity based initiatives and any reminder that Idiocracy is the true goal of DEI and equity based initiatives is a good thing.

[Sarcastr0]

Oh hey it got racist.

[ObviouslyNotSpam]

It's not that they don't know; it's that they fear saying it.

You should be fine with this?

[Kazinski]

Its a verbal tic, lots of people have verbal tics.

But if some people want to make fun of Trump's bizarre cadence and tics, I can't be too outraged about some people having fun with this, meaningless as it is.

[bye]

But it isn't a verbal tic, it's a mental failing. The reason no other judge in recent memory did anything faintly like that is they had the opposite view , the view that a Supreme Court Justice must have: I've read the case , I know the law , so let me question you about what YOU don't understand.

[bye]

People who don't want a Justice who doesn't understand Law or the Constitution 🙂

[bye]

But it is the opposite of trivial if it is your job to know !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bubba Jones]

It's a deliberately literal interpretation of her words that reveals the racism of Blackman.

[Please, Daivd, Seek Help]

Six days ago, you said, in a post, on this website:

> I don't understand how Justice Thomas has put his name to this concurrence [ACB's in Skrmetti]. It is embarrassing.

Two possibilities: one is that you literally don't understand because you're an actual idiot, and a second is that you were using a figure of speech to say you "don't understand" to convey your contempt and disagreement. Since I'm pretty sure you don't want to admit to being an actual idiot, I assume it's safe to say that you are aware of the idiomatic use of "I don't understand".

To your credit, this is better than the time you wrote 11 different blog posts being upset that she wears a necklace you don't like.

[David Nieporent]

Wears? No. Wore, once.

[Supremacy Claus]

Was onve corrected by David, of the grammar police. Have continued to use his correction. He said, one "commits" a fallacy. I have told many people, stop "committing" a fallacy.

[ObviouslyNotSpam]

Give Josh a break! He's just realized that Darth Bove is going to get his seat on the Supreme Court. It will be difficult, but Josh will get through these trying times...

[Supremacy Claus]

Change your name, please. Its Supremacy Claus now.

[LexAquilia]

She famously doesn't understand the difference between a man and woman, of course there are alot of other things that she won't understand.

[Malika the Maiz]

And she recognized there was a debate about how much, if any, a person’s preferred presentation made them the gender, if not sex, of a woman, and passes on it. Pretty smart!

[Lee Moore]

In fact she messed up her answer. She tried to make it about semantics - ie if there’s more than one word usage the prudent judge waits to hear the parties argue about which usage is right. Hence the attempt to sit on the fence.

But she toppled off the fence, and fell…..on the wrong side ! ie the same side as the normies and the Wicked Witch Marsha who was questioning her.

She performed a performative contradiction - while trying to balance on the fence she actually revealed that she knew perfectly well that a woman is defined by her biology, not by her “presentation.”

KBJ said “I am not a biologist” thereby revealing that she knows “woman” is a biological concept.

[Sarcastr0]

We had a couple of open threads during those hearings where we discussed how to define what’s a woman.

Even among MAGA there wasn’t an agreement.
Chromosomes? Egg having? Estrogen? Are vaginas the determiner?

It’s a cute talking point since y’all are desperate for a non racist avenue of attack. But it doesn’t stand up to practice.

[Lee Moore]

Chromosomes? Egg having? Estrogen? Are vaginas the determiner?*

These are all biological things. Not sociological or psychological things. KBJ agrees that "woman" is a biological thing.

Malika was trying to sell us the idea that "she recognized there was a debate about how much, if any, a person’s preferred presentation made them the gender, if not sex, of a woman, and passes on it. "

But she didn't. She was simply pretending not to know what a woman is - and slipping up by fessing up that actually she knows it's a biological thing. Not a presentation thing, or a gender thing.

How did your ever fertile imagination manage to sneak race into this ? Are you of the view that only black folk ever slip up or try to feign ignorance unsuccessfully ?

* for your biological education :
woman = female = eggy phenotype = ovaries. Not rocket science.

[CJColucci]

Unlike JB, Justice KBJ knows when she doesn't understand and seeks clarification. Seems like a good quality to me.

[dwshelf]

She's not seeking clarification. At all.

[Bob from Ohio]

Of course not, she's made up her mind.

[Sarcastr0]

On every case?

[bye]

But that's the point, nothing seems clarified if you read her opinions.
You read the case, you know the law and the clarifications needed are "What is it the person arguing in front of you doesn't get"

k

[dwshelf]

A lot of people use "I don't understand" as a twisted way to express disagreement.

What they're NOT doing is pursuing such understanding, and inviting more data to help that pursuit.

[wvattorney13]

Agreed. I believe that is what Jackson uses as sort of a habit.

[Davy C]

Given that this is during oral arguments, she literally *is* inviting an answer. Can't say I know one way or another whether she'd already made up her mind before she gets that answer, but the other 8 justices are right there listening too...

[wvattorney13]

Yes, but once you get an answer, you still "don't understand" and keep it up ad infinitum until you finally declare that your opponent is making a silly point since it is so obviously undiscernible.

[dwshelf]

It would depend on how she reacts to new information.

If she pursued it with intellectual curiosity, that would be one thing.

But if she simply repeated that she doesn't understand, that would be the other thing.

The two are not difficult to tell apart.

[bye]

Well,that invites the moral observation of Pascal, doesn't it

To doubt is a misfortune, but to seek when in doubt is an indispensable duty. So he who doubts and seeks not is at once unfortunate and unfair.

Blaise Pascal

[Riva]

Why she doesn't know what a woman is becomes more clear.

[Malika the Maiz]

She dodged the question of whether presenting female gender can constitute a woman. Pretty prudent.

[bye]

Opposite of prudent unless you are tacitly calling the asker of he question 'stupid' . are you ?

[Zarniwoop]

Is this what passes for legal scholarship at a Top 200 law school?

[Riva]

No, that’s what’s so surprising. This level of cluelessness is top 10 level, maybe the top 5.

[Malika the Maiz]

Are RB’s adopted children her kids?

[David Nieporent]

RB?

[Malika the Maiz]

Cohen

[bernard11]

Hey. I bet he put it on his c.v.

[Stuart]

What I don't understand Josh is what exactly are you saying or inferring.

What I don't understand Josh is why you do not have the guts to tell us your true feelings.

What I don't understand Josh is are you seriously questioning her intelligence? If so, I don't understand on what basis you would be doing this.

[Social Justice is neither]

My condolences on a life lived on the far left of the IQ bell curve.

[LawTalkingGuy]

Person has talking quirks. News at 11.

[bye]

NO,the opposite. In an intellectual job, questions are words showingi a state of mind. A quirk is the opposite. I know what I want to say and what I want to say is well thought out but I always preface it with something like 'as a matter of fact" or "that being so"
It is anything but a quirk. It is more like Biden who said "Two words, Made-in-America" See,that shows he doesn't even listen to himself. That's 3 words as you well know

[M L]

Maybe she is not trying hard enough.

[bernard11]

What an asshole Blackman is. I can just hear him snickering with his buddies.

[Stepped Reckoner]

This verbal tic, or oral argument strategy, or whatever you want to call it, seems to me like a mantle that was worn until recently by Justice Kagan and has now passed to Justice Jackson.

Until quite recently it seemed to me that Kagan was very prone to addressing questions to the side that she did not agree with the wording that "she was trying to understand" or "did not quite understand" that side's arguments. It was completely disingenuous, quite annoying, and conspicuously skilful: she would often tie unsuspecting counsel in verbal knots and basically blow up his or her argument.

I used to call it her "Unfrozen Caveman Justice" line of questioning, cf. Phil Hartman's old bit on SNL (You know: "Your Honor, I am but a poor unfrozen caveman lawyer and these modern notions confuse and frighten me. But there is one thing I do understand: my client should win.") It reminded me of Orin Kerr's schtick. Except Orin's is even more like SNL.

Lately it seems like Kagan has been doing this much less than before, and I think it is almost certainly because Justice Jackson is now packaging her questions this way. I think that listening to Justice Jackson's questioning has led Justice Kagan, for whatever reason or reasons, to wish to avoid this phraseology, either because she has become much more aware of her own habit in this regard or how annoying it is, or because she does not want to be using a rhetorical strategy that is very similar to another (also female, also liberal) justice, which she is afraid would get noticed and commented upon.

This is all speculation based on observation, and worth every penny that you have paid for it.

[David Nieporent]

I want my $273.41 back.

[Stepped Reckoner]

Sorry, no refunds.

[ObviouslyNotSpam]

Indeed. Have a cookie.

[bye]

Kagan ? Jackson? Not as bad as Sotomayor

1) she stated that bumpstocks can enable AR-15s to fire 800 rounds per second
2) During Covid : “We have over 100,000 children, which we’ve never had before, in serious condition, and many on ventilators.”

At the time Sotomayor spoke, fewer than 5,000 people under the age of 18 were hospitalized in the US with confirmed or suspected cases of Covid-19; the reported number of child hospitalizations was 4,464 on Thursday, the day before the hearing

THIS IS INDEFENSIBLE AND HATEFUL

who can forget : giving hormones to 'trans kids' is like taking aspirin <==== She said that with a straight smug face

1'44" mark on this
https://youtu.be/uM_RAmVP3PY

[CindyF]

There's a lot Justice Jackson doesn't understand. She tries to make up for it by talking a lot.