WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate Judiciary Committee has kicked off Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated for the nation’s highest court. At Monday’s hearing, Democrats sought to preemptively rebut Republican criticism of her record on criminal matters as a judge and before that, as a federal public defender and a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Barring a significant misstep by áJackson, Democrats who control the Senate by the slimmest of margins intend to wrap up her confirmation before Easter. Jackson is expected to answer questions from the committee’s 11 Democrats and 11 Republicans beginning Tuesday.