On Friday, February 25, 2022, President Biden announced his nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson as the next Supreme Court Justice. If confirmed, Jackson would be the first Black woman to be a Supreme Court Justice. Justice Stephen Breyer announced his plan to retire in late January, opening a spot for Biden to choose a liberal judge in a conservative court. Justice Breyer was nominated by President Bill Clinton and was generally considered a more liberal judge known to be the “most pragmatic justice on the bench.”
Ketanji Brown Jackson is a highly-respected Federal Appeals Court Judge who graduated from Harvard Law School in 1996. Jackson started as a public defender, was a federal judge for nine years, and just last year, Biden appointed her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. This position is viewed as the first step toward a Supreme Court nomination, and after Biden appointed her to this position, many speculated that she would later be his official nomination. Throughout her time as a trial judge on the Federal District Court in Washington D.C., she helped block Trump’s attempts to fast-track deportations and rejected the claim that Presidents have “absolute immunity” from congressional subpoenas by making Trump’s former White House counsel, Donald F. McGhan II, testify on Trump’s obstruction of justice. Most of her past opinions indicate that she would be as liberal as Justice Breyer if confirmed as a Justice.
Throughout her career, Jackson had to be confirmed by the Senate three times, the most recent being for the U.S. Court of Appeals. Although the Senate is extremely divided at the moment, she was able to win the votes of three Republicans: Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Lindsey O. Graham of South Carolina. With this past support from Senate Republicans, there is hope that the Senate will confirm Jackson as Supreme Court Justice. However, some conservative congressmen criticize Jackson’s education and her past rulings, claiming that they are “too liberal.” Additionally, Lindsey Graham has made it apparent that he wants J. Michelle Childs to replace Justice Breyer. Although he does not have the power to nominate a justice, he is a major player in the confirmation process. Without his vote, it could be difficult to get the support of other Republicans and, therefore, the confirmation.
As we learned in class, to be a Supreme Court Justice, the President must nominate someone and earn the Senate’s confirmation with a simple majority. The next step in this process is for Jackson to go to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she will be questioned on her past rulings and judicial philosophy. Democrat Dick Durbin will lead this Committee, and almost all members of this Committee have worked on a Supreme Court nomination before. Although this is usually a complicated process, Jackson’s recent nomination indicates that it should go smoothly and efficiently. After the questioning, the Senate must consider the nomination in an “executive session” and then vote on whether they think she is suitable to be a Supreme Court Justice.
Personally, I think that the Supreme Court would greatly benefit from having Ketanji Brown Jackson on the Court. Because currently the Supreme Court mostly consists of white men, I think that it is important to make the Court more diverse. I hope that the Senate does confirm Jackson, but I am concerned that the Republican Senators may make this difficult. I also think it is crucial that Jackson starts her confirmation process and the questioning as soon as possible as the White Houses’ resources and energy will be directed toward Ukraine and Russia in the near future.
Do you think that Ketanji Brown Jackson will be confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice?
How do you think having Ketanji Brown Jackson on the Court will affect the Supreme Court decisions?
Do you think that the recent events in Ukraine will affect this confirmation process?
3 comments:
I do think that Ketanji Brown Jackson will be confirmed. While she is a liberal justice, and although the senate is quite contentious right now, she is relatively not controversial and a respectable judge. When it comes to her possible impact, considering she is a moderate but still quite liberal judge she won’t change the balance of the court, but still her perspective on the court will be refreshing. Historically Supreme Court justice nominations and hearings are heavily covered events, but now with the Ukraine war going on, there will likely not be as much attention paid. Furthermore the senate may spend less time on the hearing compared to other hearings.
I’m not sure that Supreme Court decisions would be affected that much if Ketanji Brown Jackson became a Supreme Court Justice because there would still be a 6-3 conservative majority in the Court, so the Court would still be more likely to make more conservative decisions and interpret the Constitution more strictly and more in alignment with what they think the Founding Fathers originally intended. However, she could bring new perspectives and ideas to the Court which could possibly change how other Justices view certain laws when compared to the Constitution. Whether that will sway other Justices’ decisions or not is uncertain but it could start to shift some Justices’ decision making processes since she might come in with her own methods of interpreting the Constitution.
So far, the war going on in Ukraine hasn’t postponed Jackson’s confirmation hearings, which will begin on March 21. However, if things do get worse in Ukraine, it’s possible that the Senate could postpone Jackson’s confirmation hearing to focus on helping set new policies about or discuss the war.
Yes, Ketanji Brown Jackson will be confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice with ease. She is respected by people on both sides of the political aisle and has an impressive record being a former public defender and justice on the Court of Appeals Circuit. She is a warrior for America's most vulnerable populations, having shortened prison terms for many inmates as public defender. Also, while she is deemed a staunch democrat by many, she has received support from some very conservative figures, such as Senator Lindsey Graham when he voted for her to be on the U.S. Court of Appeals for Washington D.C. last year. She was even Justice Stephen Breyer's clerk from 1999-2000 (wiki), so there is no doubt that she has the experience necessary to do a good job. Her presence shouldn't sway Supreme Court decisions, as Elizabeth noted, but she will certainly bring some new "life" to the courts.
The Ukraine situation shouldn't slow down the confirmation process, but it is not that important, because it is almost certain that she will be confirmed. She is the least controversial person to be nominated to the Supreme Court in a long time. Neil Gorsuch was a well esteemed figure, but was nominated after the controversy surrounding Merrick Garland and the Republican dubbed "Biden rule." Brett Kavanaugh was accused of sexual assault in his road to confirmation, and Amy Coney Barrett was nominated hastily after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Ketanji deserves it, and it is a shame that the Russia-Ukraine situation is taking away from it - but that's politics.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketanji_Brown_Jackson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrick_Garland_Supreme_Court_nomination#Biden_rule
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