Justice Jackson may transform the Supreme Court

Americans should universally celebrate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court, but many do not. I will endeavor to remedy this mistake by showing that under any objective standard Jackson is qualified to serve. Further, speaking from personal experience, I will explain why she will bring something special to the court.

Much about Jackson's confirmation process was troubling, particularly the behavior of several Republican senators who badly tarnished the body's reputation. They squandered the right to call themselves members of the world's greatest deliberative body.

These senators were nasty and vitriolic and childishly walked out when Jackson's confirmation vote was announced.

Early in life, we learn good behavior, proper manners and civility from our parents, at Sunday school and in classrooms. These senators appear to have forgotten these lessons, showing why there has been a decline in civility across American society.

Ironically this mistreatment will make Jackson a better justice. She will better understand the challenges she faces as she fulfills her obligation to serve our country as a whole. She will take our motto — e pluribus unum (out of many, one) — contrast it to the senators' behavior and pledge that "I will never, ever be like that."

Benjamin Franklin experienced something similar (as dramatized in Ken Burns' recently aired PBS documentary about Franklin's life). Franklin stood before the British Privy Council in 1774 and endured its abuse. Franklin had entered that chamber as a loyal Briton; he left it as an American and became one of the new nation's founders.

Like Franklin, Jackson endured abuse with composure and eloquence. She entered the Senate hearing room as a nominee and left having earned America's confidence and respect, a person ready to be a justice for our time.

Retiring Justice Stephen Breyer said it takes two to three years for a justice to hit full stride. In ordinary times this is true, but these are not ordinary times. Trust and respect for the court has declined. Among the reasons are a dysfunctional confirmation process, the problematic backgrounds of certain justices and a willingness of some justices to misuse the shadow docket to skirt normal court procedures.

The court has been tainted by the unethical and maybe illegal conduct of Justice Clarence Thomas. It is no longer a court that serves Alexander Hamilton's Federalist No. 78 mandate to be a bulwark against society's "ill humors." Some now see the court itself as an ill humor.

Jackson's appointment may start us down the road toward resurrecting Hamilton's vision.

Many believe Jackson was appointed because she is a Black female. This is only partly true. Her status must be viewed as a preamble to her appointment. Congressman James Clyburn supported President Joe Biden at a critical time during the 2020 presidential campaign. In return, Biden pledged to consider appointing a Black female jurist to the Supreme Court. Republicans have denounced this pledge as improper, but it was not. It arguably has more merit than a pledge made by almost all Republican presidential candidates. They routinely seek the support of fundamentalist evangelical Christians by pledging to appoint only anti-abortion, anti-regulation, anti-affirmative action people who support a white Christian agenda to reshape America.

This pledge has drastically reduced the Republican pool of candidates. It has resulted in a tainted Supreme Court that has lost our respect and trust because it no longer adheres to the broad mainstream values most of us believe made America great. What Biden and Clyburn did was to expand the pool of candidates.

Jackson's qualifications have been fully described elsewhere so I will focus on something that has been missed — something special she brings to the court. Jackson's experiences as a Black woman attorney/jurist who has served in many roles in our justice system means she has lived and worked in an America different from that experienced by the court's conservative majority. This difference is important.

For nearly two decades I had the privilege of serving with a judicial colleague who is one of the finest people one could ever hope to know and work with — former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page. Page is Black. He lived in and experienced an America different from mine. Service as a VISTA attorney and being the father of two adopted Guatemalan daughters taught me much about this other America, but service with Page taught me so much more.

Page and I often discussed how we experienced America differently: the legacy of slavery, Brown v. Board of Education, the impact of Emmett Till's open casket, being stopped for "Driving While Black" and being turned away from a bed-and-breakfast because of one's skin color. We discussed legal and personal issues from our different perspectives about what it means to be an American. It was learning experience that made me a better person and a better justice.

A cursory review of the other U.S. Supreme Court justices' backgrounds shows that the conservative majority has experienced a different America from that experienced by Jackson, a contrast even greater than that between Page and me. If these justices are willing, they can learn much from serving with Jackson. They have an opportunity to expand their understanding of what it is to be an American and to better serve our country.

Jackson presents an opportunity for the rest of the court to grow. This is why I applaud her confirmation. She can be transformative, in subtle ways and ways not so subtle. We must hope that the other justices do not mimic the behavior of the Republican senators by turning their backs on this opportunity. Let us hope the other justices recognize this opportunity, show up for it, take advantage of it and learn from Justice Jackson. We will all be better served if they do.

Paul H. Anderson was an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, 1994-2013.