#shorts On 1/25/2023, Kennedy asked if Bjelkengren knew what “purposivism” is, but she was again unable to give an answer, “Judge on the far end, can you tell me what the independent state legislature theory is? I’m just asking you not what your opinion of it, what is it–it’s before the Supreme Court now.”

Bjelkengren, “In my twelve years as an assistant attorney general, and…”
Kennedy, “Right (heavy sigh).”

Bjelkengren, “That doctrine was never presented to me.”

In 2013, Bjelkengren became an administrative judge for the Office of Administrative Hearings in Washington State. In 2019, Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Bjelkengren to the Spokane County Superior Court, and she became the first female African American judge in Eastern Washington.

Purposivism, or the purposive approach, is a philosophy of interpreting the law that emphasizes the law’s purpose — advocating for judges to enforce the spirit of the law when it contradicts with the text of the law, according to Harvard Law professor John F. Manning, writing in the Columbia Law Review. In contrast, textualists argue that judges must strictly adhere to the law’s enacted text, when it is clear.
On 1/25/2023, A Biden judicial nominee was unable to answer basic questions about the U.S. Constitution posed by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., during a Senate hearing. Judge Charnelle Bjelkengren, of Spokane County Superior Court in Washington State, was nominated by President Biden to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. During her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Bjelkengren could not answer Senator Kennedy’s questions about what different parts of the U.S. Constitution do and how courts might interpret laws.

other clips of this published longer video is here: https://youtu.be/Yz8Ijx2UqWs
Bjelkengren: “In my 12 yrs as an assistant attorney general, and…”
Kennedy: “Right (heavy sigh)”