Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has been very successful and well-known in her profession for many years. Recently, she has become even more renowned after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a 53-47 vote on April 7 to be the newest justice on the Supreme Court. This makes Jackson the third Black justice, sixth female justice, and first-ever Black woman to serve on the highest court. But the path to becoming a barrier-breaking Justice was not an easy one for Jackson.
Jackson excelled in both high school and at Harvard University, after which she clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer during his 1999-2000 term. Her time at Harvard was filled with academic and social challenges. As a college student, Jackson faced acts of racism, and she stood up for what she believed in. Since then, she has served as an assistant federal public defender for the District of Columbia and was the vice-chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. In 2012, Former President Barack Obama nominated her to serve as a district court judge in Washington, D.C. She served in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia from 2013 to 2021. Though Jackson has had a long and successful career with more diverse experience than many of the other judges, she was still faced with unreasonable questioning and challenges during the confirmation process.
Jackson faced particularly harsh questioning in regard to her views on political issues. In terms of political ideology, a number of Republicans were upset because she refused to answer many of their questions, including those related to court-packing. Jackson stated that there is no simple way to state her political philosophy. She tends to interpret the Constitution depending on the case, putting effort into ensuring that each case is treated fairly based on the circumstances. This shows the hard work and dedication of Jackson and the balance that is required to be a Supreme Court Justice. Just because Republicans want her to pick a side — specifically their side — does not mean she has to. Jackson successfully kept her composure during questioning on topics that were not relevant to her position on the Supreme Court but were rather inquiries into her personal views and opinions, such as transgender athletes, illegal immigration, border policy, court-packing, and critical race theory.
Conservatives continue to argue that Jackson is a part of the far-left, and is, therefore, not fit to serve on the Court. Pushing the idea that Jackson has only gotten this far because of a left-wing agenda takes away from the success that she has worked so hard to achieve. Questions were no longer about her ideologies or opinions on theories of law but rather about small cases or views, with which senators tried to create a false image of Jackson. Though her views may differ in many ways from that of others (specifically Republican and conservative members of the Senate) that difference didn’t stop her from being confirmed to the Supreme Court.
It is necessary to have a diverse set of opinions on the Court. The Court currently has a Republican majority, and among the majority of the Senate who voted against Jackson included Republicans. Jackson’s own ideology is likely to go right up against that of the Republican or right-leaning justices. But isn’t that the whole point of having a Supreme Court — to have fair group of people with some balance? Jackson will be extremely beneficial to reaching this ideal.
Though Jackson’s opinions may be different from what many are used to, she is essential to providing balance to the now right-leaning Supreme Court. Not only will she bring balance back to the Court, but her rulings as Justice will come with a perspective as a Black woman that no other judges can offer. Justice Jackson’s position on the Supreme Court was well deserved, despite the ridiculous questioning and doubts she faced from the Senate. The challenges she faced in this first phase are only the beginning, but with her intelligence, strong sense of self, and determination, she is sure to succeed and simultaneously improve the US Supreme Court.
