US President Joe Biden Nominates First Ever Black Woman For Supreme Court Justice

Jackson’s nomination stamps Biden’s two years old poll promise of diversifying the US courts, which were controlled by white men for almost two centuries, to be more inclusive.  

US Federal Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson | Getty Images

New Delhi: US President Joe Biden nominated federal appellate judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court on Friday. Jackson currently serves as a federal appeals court judge. If Jackson’s nomination is confirmed by the US Senate, then she would become the first black woman to serve as a Justice in US’s top court.

Jackson’s nomination stamps Biden’s two years old poll promise of diversifying the US courts, which were controlled by white men for almost two centuries, to be more inclusive.  

While announcing her nomination, Biden said, Jackson has “a pragmatic understanding that the law must work for the American people,” news agency PTI reported.

He said, “She strives to be fair, to get it right, to do justice.”

According to a New York Times report, he said, “For too long our government, our courts, haven’t looked like America. I believe it is time that we have a court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation.”

If confirmed, Jackson would replace 83-year-old Justice Stephen Breyer who would be retiring at the end of the summer term. 

According to a press release by the White House, the president (Biden) searched for  “a candidate with exceptional credentials, unimpeachable character, and unwavering dedication to the rule of law. He also sought a nominee much like Justice Breyer who is wise, pragmatic, and has a deep understanding of the Constitution as an enduring charter of liberty.”

What is noteworthy here is that Jackson has worked as a law clerk in Breyer’s office in her early career.

Who Is Ketanji Brown Jackson?

Ketanji Brown Jackson is a 51-year-old federal appeals court judge since 2013. She went to Harvard for her undergraduate and law school. Before joining as a federal court judge, she served on the US Sentencing Commission, the agency that develops federal sentencing policy.

In her years of experience, she served as a federal appellate judge, a federal district court judge, a member of the US Sentencing Commission, an attorney in private practice, and a federal public defender.

Prior to her nomination for the Supreme Court, she has been voted for by the democrats and Republicans three times, said the White house. 

On her nomination, Judge Jackson said, “If I’m fortunate enough to be confirmed as the next associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. I can only hope that my life and career, my love of this country and the Constitution, and my commitment to upholding the rule of law and the sacred principles upon which this great nation was founded, will inspire future generations of Americans.”