She has everything to go down in history. Appointed by Joe Biden to the Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown Jackson could become the first black woman in America’s highest court. She has yet to pass the Senate vote, for which hearings are due to begin on Monday. But the choice of the American president is intended to be highly symbolic. “For too long, our government, our courts have not looked like America, explained Joe Biden during the presentation of his candidate. I believe it is time we had a Court that reflects the talents and greatness of our nation.”
Born in Washington, Ketanji Brown Jackson grew up in Miami in a middle-class family. His father was himself a lawyer and his mother a teacher. This is also one of the reproaches made to her today: socially, she does not differ much from the other judges of the Supreme Court. Like four others (President John Roberts, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch and Stephen Breyer, whom she could replace), she is a Harvard graduate. “The Harvard-Yale train continues to roll relentlessly towards the Supreme Court,” tweeted Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
Anti-Trump decisions
At the beginning of her career, after Harvard, she worked with Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who announced a few weeks ago that he was retiring and that she could therefore be the successor. “Not only did she learn the trade with Judge Breyer himself, but she also got to see the great rigor with which Stephen Breyer approached his work,” said Joe Biden in his introductory speech.
She then returned to the private sector, in several law firms before being appointed vice-president of the federal sentencing commission by Barack Obama in 2009. There again, she attracted the wrath of conservatives, particularly in reducing sentences for drug-related convictions.
Then she spent ten years as a judge at the Washington District Court, which has federal power. In particular, it rules several times against the Trump administration, for example by blocking a decree which would have accelerated the expulsion of illegal immigrants.
Able to reunite?
Experts classify it clearly on the left. She would be at least as progressive as Judge Breyer and has adopted positions defending minorities, or reinforcing the right to abortion, for example. “Presidents are not kings. They do not have subjects, linked by loyalty or blood, whose destiny they would be entitled to control, ”she explained in her decision to have a former adviser to Donald Trump testify, when he was suspected. obstruction of justice in the investigation of his links with Russia.
In the past, she nevertheless managed to federate around her name, which was able to convince Joe Biden. When she was appointed a year ago to the Washington Court of Appeals, she had thus obtained a confirmation from the Senate by 53 votes in favor and 44 against. Three Republicans then voted for her. In 2012, during a hearing for the Washington District Court, it was even Paul Ryan, former Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, who testified in his favor. “Our political opinions may differ, but my praise for Ketanji’s intellect, his character and his integrity are unequivocal”, confided the one who is also the brother-in-law of his brother-in-law.
With it, the balance in the Supreme Court would not be changed, the conservatives keeping the majority at 6 votes against 3, while Donald Trump was able to appoint three judges (Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett). But Democrats could renew their membership in an institution where judges serve for life. At 51, Ketanji Brown Jackson would be the second-youngest judge, after Amy Coney Barrett. While fundamental issues, such as the right to abortion, will be decided in the coming months, the Democrats hope to launch the reconquest of the Supreme Court.