About a month ago, President Joe Biden nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to become the 116th Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. She’ll be replacing Justice Stephen G. Breyer who is set to retire later this year.
Judge Jackson was born in Washington DC, on September 14, 1970, but she spent most of her childhood in Miami, Florida. She graduated magna cum laude (top 20% of school) from Harvard University in 1992 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Government. In 1996, she graduated from Harvard Law School cum laude (top 30% of school). She was also a supervising editor of the Harvard Law Review.
Her journey towards the Supreme Court nomination was long but fulfilling. After graduating, Judge Jackson worked as a Supreme Court Clerk for Justice Breyer. Once her clerkship was over, she became a public defender, representing those who could not afford to pay for a lawyer. In 2009, President Obama nominated Judge Jackson to serve as the Vice-Chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. While on the Commission, she worked to address many criminal justice issues including mandatory minimum sentencing, hate crimes, and domestic violence. President Obama nominated Judge Jackson, in 2012, to be a district judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Later, in April 2021, President Biden nominated her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Throughout her career, she has gained bipartisan support. In fact, former Republican Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, said that although their “politics may differ . . . [his] praise for Ketanji’s intellect, for her character, for her integrity, it is unequivocal.”
Her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court is extremely historical, as she’ll be the first Black woman and first former public defender to sit on the court. During her confirmation hearing that took place from Monday, March 21 to Thursday, March 24, she said “I am here, standing on the shoulders of generations of Americans who never had anything close to this kind of opportunity." When asked to give a message to young people feeling doubtful about their abilities she said, “I would tell them to persevere.”
The hearing also brought up a lot of questions about her previous policies and sentences. A lot of the inquiry was focused on sentences Jackson handed down in child pornography cases. Republicans claimed she was too lenient in her sentencing, however, her record actually falls in line with how other judges usually reacted to those types of cases. Senator Ted Cruz also asked her questions about critical race theory, which is a way of looking at U.S. History through the lens of race and systematic racism. Despite Jackson insisting critical race theory plays no role in her approach to judging, Cruz still questioned her about two children’s books (“Antiracist Baby” and “Stamped (For Kids)”) that were in the curriculum of a private school that she serves on the board of. Cruz’s comments caused “Antiracist Baby” to climb to the #1 bestseller spot in multiple categories on Amazon. Additionally, the hearing discussed her views on transgender rights issues when Senator Marsha Blackburn asked her to define “woman.” Judge Jackson responded by saying “I’m not a biologist.” Senator Lindsey Graham also asked about her faith (she’s Protestant) and if that would affect her judging, which she promptly said that it would not. Some other topics that came up were how her views were shaped by family members serving in law enforcement, abortion rights, court-packing, and past precedents (specifically Roe v. Wade and Obergefell v. Hodges).
The vote for her nomination will be held on April 4th. Although the Democrats can confirm Judge Jackson without Republican support, the vote on her confirmation is still one of the closest in history. The current Senate is divided 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans. Only two Republican senators have expressed the possibility of voting in favor of her.
Wow! What a fantastically written article! This Judge Jackson lady seems very cool! Thanks a ton Ms. Dillard!