'Presidents are not kings': 5 notable decisions by Ketanji Brown Jackson

By Michael Gryboski, Editor
Tuesday, March 01, 2022

Ketanji Brown Jackson, nominee to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit, testifies during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing in Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 28, 2021, in Washington, D.C. | Tom Williams-Pool/Getty Images

President Joe Biden has nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson, a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, to fill the seat on the U.S. Supreme Court that will become vacant when long-serving Justice Stephen Breyer retires later this year.

The decision fulfilled a campaign promise by Biden to nominate an African American woman to the Supreme Court if elected president and should the opportunity present itself.

Jackson served as a U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia from 2013 to 2021, having been confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last year. If confirmed, Jackson would become the first black woman to serve on the high court.

A White House statement noted that Jackson also served as a federal public defender from 2005 to 2007, and once clerked for Justice Breyer, whom she might replace on the high court.

“Judge Jackson has been confirmed by the Senate with votes from Republicans as well as Democrats three times,” the Biden administration added. “Judge Jackson is an exceptionally qualified nominee as well as an historic nominee, and the Senate should move forward with a fair and timely hearing and confirmation.”

Here are five notable cases that Jackson has handled during her judicial career.