President Joseph R. Biden nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court last week. This is notable decision because if Jackson is confirmed as a justice, she will be the first black woman to sit on the Supreme Court. Additionally, she will also be the first former public defender to sit on the Supreme Court. 

 Jackson’s nomination fulfills a promise that President Biden made early in 2020 to nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court.  For too long our government, our courts haven’t looked like America,” Biden said to the New York Times when asked about the nomination. “I believe it is time that we have a court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation.”

Ketanji Brown Jackson was born in Washington, D.C. and was raised in Miami. She attended Harvard for both undergraduate and graduate schooling. She then went on to serve as a district judge for the District Court of the District of Columbia from 2013 and 2021.

Jackson is also the former assistant special counsel to the US Sentencing Commission, which gives Jackson the unique experience and expertise on criminal justice reform. 

Jackson’s confirmation would not change the partisan balance of the court, which has six conservative judges and three liberal judges.

Now, the only thing left for Jackson to become a full member of the Supreme Court are confirmation hearings where she will be questioned about her legal career by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The confirmation hearings are set to begin March 21, 2022, and a decision will be reached on April 8. 

UPDATE: On April 7, 2022, Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed into the Supreme Court of the United States.