Most Americans probably do not like it, but it is a sign of the times. Judicial nominees appear to be no longer selected because of their education, experience, and exceptional knowledge and application of the law. But for their ideological bent, how they can help the party in power in Washington D.C. and elsewhere. They are picked, or not picked, for the cases they might hear, on their political views, and how those views might affect how they rule. It is during the nomination process that the responses of those nominees are getting downright silly, but they have real-world consequences.

Biden nominated Sarah Netburn for a judge position in NY. She put a 6’ 2” convicted p*d* in a women’s prison because he said he identifies as a woman.

She was asked if chromosomes determine s*x and she said she can’t answer because she “never studied biology.”

Activist judges… pic.twitter.com/1TC0iJLBZY

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 5, 2024

Judge Sarah Netburn is a United States Magistrate Judge. She has been nominated by President Joe Biden for a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, a very prestigious nomination indeed. But there is just one problem: Recently, during her nomination hearing, when given a series of questions by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of those questions pertained to wording in a ruling from August 2022 that directed a biological male prisoner to be housed in a women's prison.

“In your Report & Recommendation, you open your ‘Factual Background’ section by stating: ‘At birth, people are typically assigned a gender.’ … Is it possible to determine a person’s sex by only analyzing their chromosomes?”

Judge Netburn's response may sound like a road we have been down before. She replied, “I have never studied biology, and therefore I am unqualified to answer this question." Never having "studied biology" appears to be a qualification for Biden judicial appointees. If you recall, now Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson also had trouble with simple biology when asked by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, “Can you provide a definition for the word ‘woman'?" To which Justice Brown Jackson replied, “Can I provide a definition? No, I can’t.” When Blackburn pressed her, she now famously, or infamously added, “Not in this context, I’m not a biologist."

It might be one thing to rattle off a ridiculous response like that in the environment of a hearing, but in Judge Netburn's case, it has very real ramifications. The potential inmate in question pleaded guilty to molesting a nine-year-old boy, a class B felony, raping a 17-year-old girl, and criminal deviate conduct in the rape case; both are also class B felonies. The suspect was sentenced to two consecutive 18-year prison terms in an Indiana state prison and was released on parole after 18 years, but violated the terms of parole by having internet access in his apartment and was resentenced to six years. 

William McClain, who now goes by July Justine Shelby, filed a handwritten petition in April 2020, stating that he suffered from gender dysphoria and feared for his health, safety, and life. In her confirmation hearing, Netburn stated: 

"I issued a report and recommendation to the district judge recommending that the district judge transfer the petitioner to a women's facility. My recommendation was that the petitioner's serious medical needs were being denied by keeping her in a men's facility."

Biden judicial nominee Sarah Netburn can’t say whether chromosomes determine sex: ‘I have never studied biology’https://t.co/RzD2vPF3RC pic.twitter.com/eOK6P7ILfj

— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) June 5, 2024

Based on Netburn's recommendation, a U.S. District Judge requested that the New York State Bureau of Prisons "transfer Ms. Shelby to a female facility as soon as possible." Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) wasted no time in summing up Netburn's actions, saying:

“So you took a six-foot-two serial rapist, serial child rapist, with male genitalia, and he said ‘You know, I’d like to be in a women’s prison,” “And your answer was, ‘That sounds great to me.’”

But it was Cruz's follow-up questions to Judge Netburn that illustrated all we need to know about Judge Netburn. Cruz asked: 

"Let me ask you something. The other women in that prison, do they have any rights? Do they have the right not to have a six-foot-two man who is a repeat serial rapist put in as their cellmate?"

Netburn's only answer was, "Senator Cruz, I consider the facts presented to me, and I reached a decision." She added that every inmate has the right "to be safe in their space." But clearly, Judge Netburn is more willing to grant that right to some inmates and not others. Cruz called her exactly what she is: a "political activist."  

Judges like Sarah Netburn and Ketanji Brown Jackson know exactly what they are doing by giving the responses to these types of questions that they do. They know they will, at some point, have to rule in a case or cases on gender and would rather not have words uttered in a hearing come back to bite them later. Self-preservation is nice, but as a judge, you are making decisions that affect people's lives. Sarah Netburn may be the judicial activist Sen. Cruz accused her of being, but her best activism may be making the case for requiring a semester or two of biology for aspiring law students. 

If confirmed, Sarah Netburn won't be a judge—she'll be an activist.

She housed a male serial rapist in a women's prison to advance her career & appease the radical left.

It's disgraceful that Biden nominated this hack for a lifetime appointment.https://t.co/IXcOy001p4

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 25, 2024