On Friday, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was nominated by President Biden to become the 116th associate justice of the United States Supreme Court. If confirmed she will be the first Black woman to set on the Supreme Court. The 51-year-old will replace Justice Stephen Breyer, who announced his retirement on January 27. She would be the current court’s second Black justice. The first Black justice is Justice Clarence Thomas.
Jackson served as the District of Columbia since 2013. She previously worked as a public defender, the vice and chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and a clerk under retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. She was part of the president’s first round of judicial nominees.
Her appointment to the D.C. Circuit was approved in a 53–44 bipartisan vote. Jackson filled the seat vacated when former Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland became U.S. attorney general.
‘Brightest legal minds’
Jackson recieved and accepted Biden’s nomination on Thursday night during a phone call.
I’m proud to announce that I am nominating Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the Supreme Court. Currently serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, she is one of our nation’s brightest legal minds and will be an exceptional Justice.https://t.co/iePvhz1YaA pic.twitter.com/Nzqv2AtN8h
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 25, 2022
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Former President Barack Obama congratulated Jackson on her nomination.
“Judge Jackson has already inspired young Black women like my daughters to set their sights higher,” Obama tweeted, ” and her confirmation will help them believe they can be anything they want to be.
Jackson was born and raised in Miami, Fl. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University, cum laude from Harvard Law School.
