What you need to know about Supreme Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson

Ketanji Brown Jacksonswore as116th Supreme Court Judgewhen Judge Stephen Breyer retired on June 30, 2022 at the end of his 2021 term.

Here's what you need to know: The 51-year-old Federal Court of Appeals judge became the first black woman to appear in the US Supreme Court. 

Senate Confirmation

She was confirmed in the Senate bipartisan votewith Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski. I did. Susan Collins and Mitt Romney have joined the Democratic Party. 

At her confirmation hearing, some Republican senatorsmade her a judge for criminal activists. I drew itWho will legislate from the bench?

Their criticisms aimed at Jackson's record of child pornography as a judge in federal court.

President Biden, who has fulfilled his vows to appoint a black woman to the High Court, enjoys the opportunity to choose a judge that reflects the diversity of the country and makes her an example for others. It was confirmed. Follow: "Look, it's powerful when people can see themselves among others."

That's the emotion that Jackson shares. "I'm a slave's dream and hope," Jackson said at the White House after being confirmed. She described her new role in court: "I strongly believe this is a moment of great pride for all Americans. We have come a long way to complete the union. My The family ended in just one generation. From separation to the US Supreme Court. "

Historical nomination

Jackson was the first black woman to become a Supreme Court judge. As a result, the courts, which consisted entirely of white men for almost two centuries, were further diversified. Jackson stands on the bench 125 years after the Supreme Court upheld racial separation as the Plessy v. Ferguson constitution.

She is 2 Second, alongside Clarence Thomas, a black judge in the current court, and the third judge in history. She is the fourth woman in court today, the highest number ever, and justice for the sixth woman in history. 

Harvard Law School graduate  

From Washington, D.C., Jackson grew up in Florida. The White Housebiopagestates that her parents attended an isolated primary school in the South and eventually became teachers and managers of public schools in the Miami area.

Becoming a judge seems to have been her longtime dream. The 1998 Miami Palmetto High School Yearbook states that she is a member of several Honor Society, "I want to enact a law and ultimately get a judicial appointment." ..

Jackson attended Harvard University and Harvard Law School. According to the White House, when she told her high school coaching counselor that she wanted to go to Harvard, the counselor warned her not to set her gaze "very high." Jackson graduated from Harvard University with honors and Harvard Law School with honors.

Former Supreme Court Secretary and Elected Attorney

During her term beginning in October 1999, she served as Breyer's Secretary in the Supreme Court. After her mission at her elite law firm, she served as a special aide. Advisor to the US Supreme Court.

She also returned to the US Sentence Commission in 2010 as Vice-Chairman after working as an Assistant to the Federal Public Attorney for two years. Jackson's time as a public lawyer will be the first judge to have experience representing criminal defendants since Thurgood Marshall. 

Leading candidate before vacancies 

Jackson was considered a leading candidate for the Supreme Court even before the vacancies occurred. Nine years on her federal bench to make her a favorite.

She was elected by President Joe Biden in 2021 to replace Attorney General Merrick Garland of the United States. The District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is considered to be the second strongest court in the United States and was served by three judges of the current Supreme Court. Jackson was confirmed on the D.C. circuit in June 2021 and endorsed by all Senate Democrats and three Republicans (Maine Senator Susan Collins, South Carolina Lindsey Graham, and Alaska Lisa Marcus). Got

Prior to being appointed to the Washington, DC Circuit, Jackson served as a judge in the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia for over eight years. She was elected to that post by former President Barack Obama in 2012 and was introduced at a confirmation hearing by Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan, who served as Speaker of the House before she retired in 2018.

Ryan and Jackson are related by her marriage, and he calls her a "great man." "Our politics may be different, but my admiration for Ketanji's intelligence, her personality, and her integrity is clear," Ryan said of her.

Obama considered Jackson in the Supreme Court in 2016 to fill the vacant seats created by the death of Judge Antonin Scalia.

Her attention-grabbing case  

During her tenure in the district court, Jackson gets attentionConflictWas ruled. Between the House Judiciary Committee and former White House adviser Don McGarn, it was discovered in 2019 that McGarn had to follow a subpoena for testimony.

"The president is not a king, which means they do not have the loyalty or blood-bound subject that they are destined to rule over," she wrote. .. "Rather, in this land of freedom, it is indisputable that White House employees pledge to work for the people of the United States and protect and uphold the United States Constitution."

Also rejected former President Donald Trump's attempt to prevent the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration from handing over White House records to the House Select Commission investigating January 6, three members of the Washington, D.C. circuit. I was on the judge's panel. Assault on the US Capitol. Jackson joined the opinion written by Judge Patricia Millett, and Trump said, "This court did not provide a basis for invalidating President Biden's decision, and agreement and coordination were made between the political departments on these documents. ".

The Supreme Court finally approves the National Archives of Japan to submit records to the Commission on January 6,demands that it be blocked from being released from Trump. 169} request rejected. ..

Melissa Quinn, Nancy Cordes, Jacob Rosen, The Associated Press contributed to the report.