Ketanji Brown Jackson (51) becomes the first black woman to serve on the US Supreme Court. The Senate approved her candidacy tonight by 53 votes to 47. Her nomination is seen as “a milestone”.
Brown Jackson was nominated by President Joe Biden, a Democrat. During his presidential election campaign, he promised to appoint a black woman to the highest court in the US. In the Senate, she received the support of all Democrats, as well as three moderate Republicans: Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Mitt Romney (Utah). A simple majority was enough.
She will replace Liberal judge Stephen Breyer, 83, when he retires at the end of the judicial year. This is expected to be at the end of June. Brown Jackson will also be officially sworn in. In a past life, she was Breyer’s clerk on the Supreme Court.
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The composition of the Supreme Court remains the same as a result of her appointment: six conservative judges against three progressive judges. The court has a lot of influence and can leave its mark on important issues such as abortion, weapons, religious freedom, the death penalty and LGBTQ+ rights.
Of the 115 chief justices who have served on the U.S. Supreme Court since its creation in 1789, 112 were white. The first colored chief justice was black Thurgood Marshall, who served from 1967 to 1991. The other two are still in office: black Clarence Thomas and Latin American Sonia Sotomayor.
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Ketanji Brown Jackson is also only the sixth woman to serve on the highest court. At the moment there are three seats: in addition to Sonia Sotomayor, they are Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett. The first woman on the court was Sandra Day O’Connor (1981-2006), the second Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1993-2020).
Jackson currently works on an appeals court, a body just below the Supreme Court. Biden appointed her there last year. Before that, she was a federal judge for eight years. Previously, she was also a lawyer for people who cannot afford a lawyer.
The appointment as Chief Justice is for life. Given that Brown Jackson is only 51, she will normally be able to make her mark.
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