Over the past several weeks, you have probably heard the words “Supreme Court” and “justice” more frequently than ever before, and this isn’t without cause. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is President Joe Biden’s nominee for the upcoming Supreme Court opening, and she is one of the most accredited and experienced candidates we’ve seen in years.
In the third week of March, Judge Jackson sat before Congress in something called a “confirmation hearing.” Essentially what these hearings are is an opportunity for senators to ask the nominee questions about their experience and viewpoint in judging. However, this hearing was particularly controversial because of the lack of relevant questions. Notably, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) asked Judge Jackson questions about Critical Race Theory and her opinion on racist babies. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-KY) questioned her about her faith and how it could potentially impact her decisions. (Interestingly leaving out Justice Barrett’s traditionalist faith and Justice Thomas’s blatant bias following the release of recent information regarding his wife and the January 6 insurrection.)
At the time of writing this article (the week of 4/4/2022), Congress is voting on whether or not Judge Jackson should be confirmed. A few senators have already come forth with their decision. Unsurprisingly, the decisions fall along party lines. Democrats are overwhelmingly voting to approve Judge Jackson, and Republicans are voting against.
On Monday, April 4th, the Supreme Court Advisory Committee voted to advance her to the Senate, where she is expected to be approved.
If approved, Judge Jackson would be the first Black woman to be on the Supreme Court in its entire existence. With experience as an Ivy League law school student, Supreme Court clerk, public defender, sentencing commissioner, district judge, and Court of Appeals judge, Judge Jackson is more qualified than any of the sitting Justices.
Her appointment was already groundbreaking, now it's time for the Senate to contribute to this revolutionary nomination.
Written by: Arran Davis
Edited by: Ricardo Corpus