Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's ascension to U.S. Supreme Court would be historic. The federal appeals court judge would become the first Black woman to serve on the nation's highest court in its more than 200-year history.
Nominated by President Joe Biden last week, Jackson, if seated, would be the current court's second Black member — conservative Clarence Thomas is the other — and just the third in history. Adding Jackson would wisely expand the Supreme Court's racial and gender composition.
And Jackson would become the only member of the court with experience as a public defender. She comes from a law enforcement family with a brother and two uncles who were police officers — one of them chief of police in Miami. She also has an uncle who got caught up in the drug trade and received a life sentence.
In support of her nomination, the National Fraternal Order of Police wrote: "There is little doubt that she has the temperament, intellect, legal experience and family background to have earned this appointment."
Few have questioned Jackson's academic credentials. She has two Harvard degrees with honors and is a former editor of the Harvard Law Review. She's been a lawyer in private practice, a trial and appellate court judge, and a clerk for Justice Stephen Breyer, the retiring member of the court who she would replace.
Over the years, Republicans themselves have praised Jackson's integrity, fairness and sound work. When she was appointed as a federal judge in 2013, she was introduced at her confirmation hearing by former Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, to whom she's related by marriage. "Our politics may differ," he said, "but my praise for Ketanji's intellect, for her character, for her integrity, it is unequivocal."
In nominating Jackson and in his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Biden touted her stellar background and called for swift confirmation. The nominee started making progress toward that goal this week by meeting with Senate leaders. With confirmation hearings set to begin March 21, Biden and Senate Democrats hope to confirm her in time to replace Breyer by mid-April.
Some Republicans have criticized Biden's pledge to appoint a Black woman to the court and described her as too liberal. But there are also signs that her appointment could go smoothly. Three Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins, Lindsey Graham and Lisa Murkowski — have already voted for Jackson once, to confirm her for her current role on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
