Introducing the New Supreme Court Nominee: Ketanji Brown Jackson

By Reeya Patel

The George Washington University’s Pre-Law Women’s Student Association wishes Ketanji Brown Jackson our warmest congratulations on her nomination to the highest court in the nation and a successful hearing in front of the Judicial Committee this past week!

On February 25th, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Judge Jackson to become the 116th Associate Justice in the US Supreme Court. She will be the first African-American woman on the bench and the sixth woman in the court’s history to serve, joining three other women currently on the bench. Jackson was born in Washington D.C., and grew up in Miami. She attended Harvard University for her undergraduate degree even though her guidance counselor told her not to set her sights so high. Judge Jackson then attended Harvard Law School and was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Jackson’s legal record reflects an extensively qualified but unique background to serve on the Supreme Court. She served as Justice Breyer’s law clerk and was a public defender for ten years before serving as the Vice Chair of the US Sentencing Commission, US District Court Judge for the District of Columbia, and the Judge on the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The fact that Jackson served as a public defender also marks a first for the Supreme Court pedigree as Jackson will be the first public defender to ever serve on the bench.

As a public defender, Jackson brings to the Supreme Court a holistic understanding of how the judicial system works. She remembers that a lot of people going through the system do not understand what is happening to them, so Jackson made sure to explicitly make things clear for her clients. Jackson’s background brings immense value to the bench. As the only one who experienced the judicial system from the prosecutor’s bench and the defendant’s, Jackson brings a more comprehensive understanding of how the judicial system works as a whole.

Judge Jackson’s judicial philosophy is unclear as she will not explicitly declare any one track. However, her comments during her confirmation hearing at the Senate building do reflect some of her opinions on how the US constitution should be interpreted in the 21st century. Jackson claims she follows a judicial “methodology” rather than a philosophy: she removes any biases from her decision-making process, evaluates the facts and arguments, and then applies the law. In regards to how to interpret the US Constitution, the document “is fixed in its meaning. I believe that it’s appropriate to look at the original intent, original public meaning of the words.” Jackson qualifies her originalist argument by stressing the importance of examining the Constitution through the context of history in order to understand the spirit of the Constitution. When adherence to the text is not enough to rule on cases, Jackson refers to the spirit of the law to make her decision.

Jackson is a wonderful addition to the Supreme Court. As a black mother, Jackson often reflected the difficulty in being an associate at a law firm with demanding hours at the same time as being a mother. But, just having her, with her background and experience, on the court changes the perspectives of the other judges and makes the bench more reflective of what this country looks like. Former Judge Alito recalled that just having Clarence Thomas sit on the bench next to the other judges forced them to approach cases differently. Jackson, with her eminent qualifications, could have a similar influence.

Sources: 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/ketanji-brown-jackson-and-antonin-scalia-supreme-court-se nate-confimation-hearings-originalism-11648159368

https://www.wsj.com/articles/ketanji-brown-jackson-judicial-record-supreme-court-nomi nee-public-defender-dc-circuit-biden-11646001770

https://www.wsj.com/articles/ketanji-brown-jackson-and-the-triumph-of-originalism-publ ic-meaning-testimony-hearing-supreme-court-11648151063?cx_testId=3&cx_testVariant =cx_4&cx_artPos=3&mod=WTRN#cxrecs_s

https://www.whitehouse.gov/kbj/ https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/02/politics/ketanji-brown-jackson-profile/index.html 6.https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/home.nsf/content/VL+-+Judges+-+KBJ

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https://guides-lawlibrary.colorado.edu/c.php?g=1221327