Explained: Who is Ketanji Brown Jackson, set to become the first Black woman justice of the US Supreme Court?

Interestingly, Jackson was mentored by Breyer when she worked as a law clerk under him and like Breyer, she went on to work at the US Sentencing Commission.

During his presidential campaign Biden promised that his nominee will be the court’s first Black woman, thereby potentially becoming one of the nine justices, which currently has double the number of conservative justices (6) than liberal ones.

The split is the same between the number of men (6) and women (3) on the bench. There is also one Black male justice Clarence Thomas who was appointed by Republican president George Bush. After Breyer retires, Thomas will become the oldest on the bench at 73 years.

The significance of this nomination

This nomination is crucial, like any other such appointment, because Supreme Court justices are appointed for life, a term limit that has lasting consequences on the liberal-conservative divide, which affects the life of citizens by bearing down on issues such as abortion, immigration, gun control and even vaccine mandates.

Under Donald Trump, the court was considered to be one of the most conservative-leaning courts in US history. During his tenure, Trump appointed three justices to the Supreme Court. His last appointment became possible after the death of liberal stalwart Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2020, after which Trump nominated conservative Amy Coney Barrett to the court.

Barrett’s nomination was protested by the Democrats, who called out Trump for pushing to nominate the ninth justice during an election year. In 2016, which was also an election year, Republicans successfully blocked then president Barack Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, after justice Antonin Scalia passed away.

Worried by the ideological split of the court, the Democrats were also considering expanding the court’s bench in 2020 (also referred to as court-packing) to ensure that the court does not lean strongly to the right for the next 30-40 years or so.

Replacing Breyer now will ensure that the Democrats are able to at least retain the current 6-3 conservative-liberal split in the court.

Who is Ketanji Brown Jackson?

“President Biden sought a candidate with exceptional credentials, unimpeachable character, and unwavering dedication to the rule of law. And the President sought an individual who is committed to equal justice under the law and who understands the profound impact that the Supreme Court’s decisions have on the lives of the American people,” a statement from the White House said about Jackson’s nomination.

Jackson, 51, was previously Breyer’s law clerk and is a product of Harvard Law School. She was also a public defender, which involves representing defendants who are unable to pay for a lawyer.

If nominated to the Supreme Court, Jackson will not only become the first Black woman to be on the court, but also the first former federal public defender to serve on the country’s highest court.

Under president Barack Obama, she was nominated to serve as the Vice Chair of the US Sentencing Commission, whose creation was endorsed by Biden when he was a member of the US Senate.

In June 2021, she was commissioned as a Circuit Judge, becoming one of Biden’s first presidential nominees.

In a video shared by Biden on Twitter, Jackson said, “I started thinking about the law when I was really young, my father went back to law school when I was a kid.”

“I have spent my life admiring lawyers and judges from all backgrounds, but especially, those who are African-Americans, like me who have worked very hard to get where they are,” she added.

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