EDITORIAL

On February 25, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the United States Supreme Court. On April 7, 2022, Jackson’s nomination was confirmed. Staff of the White House stated on Biden’s behalf that he “sought a candidate with exceptional credentials, unimpeachable character, and unwavering dedication to the rule of law,” in order to fill the empty position on the Supreme Court that was left by Justice Stephen Breyer when he announced his retirement. Despite Jackson’s experience and clear dedication to her field, many felt that she was unfit to fill the role of a United States Supreme Court justice.

Jackson is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard University as well as a cum laude graduate of Harvard law school. Beyond these impressive achievements, she has served as a public defender, a Supreme Court clerk, Vice Chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Many politicians and political commentators believe that Jackson having held all of these prestigious and demanding positions make her far more qualified than any other justice currently sitting on the United States Supreme Court. Former Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan was quoted as saying “My praise for Ketanji’s intellect, for her character, for her integrity, it is unequivocable.” 

Despite her abundant qualifications, many politicians, predominantly Republican senators, have protested Jackson’s nomination. Jackson is a member of the Democratic party and a black woman. She will notably be the first black woman appointed to the Supreme Court bench. The backlash her nomination and confirmation have received pose the question: Are people against Jackson due to her politics or due to the fact that she is a black woman?

During Jackson’s confirmation hearings, several Republican senators went to great lengths to discredit her. Jackson was asked many bizarre questions in a desperate attempt to illustrate her as illegitimate or undeserving of the role she had been nominated for. She was asked convoluted questions about critical race theory, child pornography, and was even asked to define the word, ‘woman.’ Jackson demonstrated great patience and ability during these hearings until her confirmation. Many Republican senators seemed to be accusing Jackson of having a hidden liberal agenda. This belief lacks evidence and was quickly dismissed by most Democratic senators and many Republicans as well. However, the accusation that Jackson’s judicial philosophy was immoral or incorrect carried more weight.

Judicial philosophy is the approach a judge takes in understanding and interpreting the law. The Republican party generally aligns itself with originalism. Originalism is a judicial philosophy that aims to stay true to the original intent of the United States Constitution. When questioned on her judicial philosophy, Jackson did not claim to agree with the notion of originalism. This lack of endorsement was sensationalized and twisted into Jackson renouncing the Constitution. In reality, many centrist or liberal politicians do not advocate for originalism. The fact that Jackson does not seek to adhere to originalism does not mean that she is unfit to be a Supreme Court Justice, nor does it mean she is renouncing the Constitution or current system of government. It simply means that she disagrees with many Republican senators. Many conservative politicians of course seek to conserve the principles that the country was built on. Disagreement with this goal is not immoral; it is simply disagreement regarding political issues. This disagreement is natural as Jackson is a member of a different party, built on different values. Republican senators and conservative news outlets have sought to use this disagreement as a way to discredit Jackson.

The backlash against Jackson for her judicial philosophy is another attempt by Republican senators to discredit Jackson without evidence of any objective shortcomings. Jackson is clearly qualified to be a United States Supreme court justice, and many of the claims that she is not fit for the position are solely rooted in racism and misogyny.