Breaking History: Judge Jackson’s Rise to SCOTUS

Written by Cheryl Bai (W’25); Edited by Rosie Bui (W’25)

A clerk for the nation’s highest courts, a public defender, a Washington, D.C. judge. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has worn many hats and has now been confirmed as the next designated associate justice of the Supreme Court, the very first black woman in history to serve this position. 

Born in the nation’s capital, Judge Jackson is a native of Miami, Florida. She graduated from Harvard University in 1992 and Harvard Law School in 1996. Jackson has worked for organizations such as the U.S. Sentencing Commission, the U.S. District Court, and the U.S. Court of Appeals. Jackson is also related by marriage to Paul Ryan, the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, who has spoken of her highly in the past. 

A unique feature of Jackson’s background is that she has spent most of her legal career as a public defender, representing low-income defendants as a criminal defense attorney. No current Supreme Court Justice has a similar experience, so Jackson brings a diverse perspective to the Court. In challenging cases, she has helped represent clients such as the Guantánamo Bay detention camp detainees. 

Jackson was nominated by President Biden following the announcement of the retirement of Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, fulfilling his campaign promise of nominating a black woman to the Court. He announced that he would retire sometime near the Court’s summer recess, which would be either June or July of this year. The confirmation hearings occurred with an effort by some Republican senators to challenge Jackson’s background and experiences. Notably, Ted Cruz of Texas attacked Jackson about critical race theory practices of a private high school where she serves as a trustee, and Lindsay Graham of South Carolina announced his refusal to support Jackson. Despite this, Jackson was confirmed to the Supreme Court of the United States by a 53-47 vote, which included all Democratic senators and three Republicans. 

Jackson is expected to take the bench around October, after the Court’s summer recess. She will serve as one of three liberal-leaning justices out of the total nine. As the most qualified Supreme Court Justice to be nominated in recent times, she will no doubt bring an experienced and accomplished perspective to the nation’s highest judicial system.