Sam Brownback: “I want to take up the discussion of Justice Janice Rogers Brown and her qualifications for serving on the DC Circuit…”

“I want to take up the discussion of Justice Janice Rogers Brown and her qualifications for serving on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals and some of the accusations and charges that have been brought against her. There have been a number that have been put forth. I had a lengthy discussion earlier about what I think this is really about, that it is about her being a strict constructionist, wanting to stay within the confines of the Constitution and the law and her interpretation rather than an expansive reading of it. I think that is really what is at the root of this, but people bring forth all sorts of allegations and charges, and I want to address some of them. One of them is on a particular case, the Lochner case. As it might be described, this is getting into the weeds and details of some items, but I think it is meritorious to raise. She has been charged by some of our colleagues that in the Santa Monica Beach v. Superior Court case that Justice Brown called the demise of the Lochner decision, which was overruled in 1937, the revolution of 1937, and ``she wants to undo'' this overruling. A couple of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle said that Justice Brown believes in Lochner and wants the New Deal undone. That is the charge against Janice Rogers Brown. I want to talk about that particular charge because the opposite is what is actually true.…”