CIVICS

A Supreme First

Ketanji Brown Jackson has been confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming the first Black female justice.

May 2022

By Laura Anastasia

This summer, Ketanji Brown Jackson will join the U.S. Supreme Court—and make history. The longtime judge, 51, will become the first Black female justice on the nation’s highest and most important court.

U.S. President Joe Biden nominated Jackson in February to replace justice Stephen G. Breyer, who plans to retire after nearly three decades on the Supreme Court. Following the process outlined in the Constitution, the U.S. Senate held confirmation hearings in March to review Jackson’s nomination. During the hearings, senators interviewed Jackson about her qualifications. The Senate voted to confirm her appointment on April 7.

Jackson has served as a federal judge in Washington, D.C., for nine years. Before that, she worked as a public defender—a lawyer who represents defendants who cannot afford legal representation.

As a justice, Jackson will make tough legal decisions that affect the entire country. The Supreme Court’s nine justices interpret the U.S. Constitution and decide whether laws and actions of the government obey the rules outlined in that document. In the next few months, the justices are expected to rule on several important cases (see sidebar, below).

Like all justices, Jackson can serve on the Supreme Court for life. Her work will affect the country for generations and have a lasting impact on the nation’s laws.

“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,” Jackson said after being nominated.

Weighty Decisions

Supreme Court justices can influence everything from whether schools can punish students for social media posts to how states collect mail-in election ballots.

Each year, the justices are asked to consider thousands of cases, mostly from state and federal courts. They typically choose about 80 to rule on during their annual term, which lasts from October through June or July. Once the justices rule on a case, all lower courts must follow their decision.

How justices interpret the Constitution varies, however. Some justices focus on the Constitution’s exact wording or what they believe was the Framers’ original intent. Those justices are generally considered conservative. Other justices view the Constitution as a living document—one whose meaning evolves as society changes. Those justices are generally considered liberal.

A majority of the justices—at least five—must agree on a decision for it to become final. There are currently six conservative justices and three liberal justices. Jackson’s addition won’t change that balance, experts say. Her rulings as a federal judge indicate that she will be a liberal justice—as is Breyer, whom she is replacing.

A Changing Court

With the addition of Jackson, four of the nine justices will now be women—the most who have ever served on the Supreme Court at the same time. Jackson will be the sixth female justice in U.S. history. The first, Sandra Day O’Connor, became a justice in 1981.

Jackson’s appointment also increases the diversity of the Court, which added its first Hispanic justice, Sonia Sotomayor, in 2009. During his 2020 presidential campaign, Biden promised to appoint a Black woman as a Supreme Court justice if a seat opened during his term.

“For too long, our government, our courts, haven’t looked like America,” Biden said when he announced Jackson’s nomination. “I believe it is time that we have a court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation.”

Cases to Watch

The nation’s top court is set to decide a number of important cases that could reshape life in America. Here’s what you need to know about three of them.

New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen

This case focuses on a New York law that limits who can carry guns outside their homes. Two men are suing New York for rejecting their applications to carry concealed weapons in public. The state said the men did not prove they had a sufficient reason to do so—such as that they require more self-protection than other people—as the law requires. The justices will decide whether the law violates the Second Amendment, which states that Americans have the right to “keep and bear arms.” This is set to be the first Supreme Court ruling on a Second Amendment case since 2010. The decision, expected by mid-summer, could affect gun laws nationwide.

Carson v. Makin

Several families are challenging a Maine law that prevents students from using state tuition assistance money to attend private high schools that teach religion. Maine’s government gives such funds to families to help pay for their kids to attend a private high school if their community does not have a public high school. The families sued because the state denied their request to use the money to send their teens to private Christian high schools. The state said the schools did not qualify for the funding because religion is part of their curriculum. The First Amendment is at the heart of the debate. It protects Americans’ right to practice the religion of their choice, but it also forbids the government from establishing or endorsing a religion. This case also touches on the Fourteenth Amendment, which says that states cannot govern people differently based on characteristics such as race or religion. A ruling is expected by mid-summer.

Students for Fair Admissions v. President & Fellows of Harvard

After Jackson joins the Court, the justices will consider whether colleges can take race into account when deciding which students to admit. That practice, known as affirmative action, is intended to make up for the effects of past discrimination and has been upheld by the justices before. In this case, a group of students claims affirmative action policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina are unfair because they let the schools limit how many Asian American teens are admitted, regardless of how many qualified Asian American teens apply. The group says the policies violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which states that any program or activity that receives federal funds or assistance cannot discriminate based on race, color, or national origin. The schools say such policies help them ensure that there are enough spots for students of all races. The justices are expected to decide this case in the Court’s next session, which starts in October.

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