Ketanji Brown Jackson, an African-American on the Supreme Court of the United States

And if his uncles had something to do with it? When she takes the oath to sit on the Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown Jackson will necessarily have a thought for his family. For his uncles in particular, who had an influence on his way of perceiving the penal system. One served as Miami Police Chief. Another, detective specializing in sex crimes. But there is also a third who found himself on the other side of the bars.

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Thomas Brown was sentenced to life in prison in October 1989 for possession of cocaine: he had 14 kilos on him when he was arrested. Above all, he is the victim of a very strict law called “the third fault”, which automatically provides for life after the third offense against the law on narcotics. Barack Obama commuted his prison sentence, as well as those of 78 inmates in his case, in November 2016. But he died shortly after his release.

The case marked Ketanji Brown Jackson. Before the media got involved, she never really talked about it publicly. The magistrate, whose little brother infiltrated drug circles for the Baltimore police, also has a rather atypical profile for a candidate for the Supreme Court: she notably served as a court-appointed lawyer for defendants without means. . Including a Guantanamo detainee. In 2005, it was prisoner number 15854-004 who called him: his uncle. If in the end Barack Obama decided to intercede on his behalf, Ketanji Brown Jackson is not entirely for nothing. She was able to direct him to good lawyers.

A campaign promise

Nominated Friday by Joe Biden, Ketanji Brown Jackson, 51, will be the first black woman to reach the Supreme Court if the Senate endorses the president’s choice. A historic decision, but somewhat stifled by Ukrainian news. So far, only two black men have served on the court, Thurgood Marshall, from 1967 to 1991, and his successor, Clarence Thomas, who still sits there. Once the resignation of Judge Stephen Breyer was announced, Joe Biden very quickly confirmed one of his campaign promises: his successor will be a black woman. And Ketanji Brown Jackson quickly emerged as the favorite.

I hope that my commitment to the rule of law and the sacred principles on which this nation was built will inspire future generations of Americans.

Born in Washington, she grew up in Miami, studied law at Harvard and took acting classes, where she would have had the opportunity to play the role of actor Matt Damon. Clerk, she notably worked for Judge Breyer, then as a lawyer, in the public and private sectors. In 2009, she was appointed vice chair of the United States Sentencing Commission, where she helped reduce sentences for drug offenders. Last year, she was named a judge on the Federal Court of Appeals in Washington, by Joe Biden.

A sentence comes up regularly when his name is mentioned: “Presidents are not kings”. That’s what she wrote in 2019 in a case related to Donald Trump’s attempts to obstruct the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. More recently, she participated in the panel of judges who decided that the ex-president had no right to oppose the transfer of documents from the White House to the commission investigating the Capitol. The Supreme Court agreed with them.

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For Joe Biden, Ketanji Brown Jackson is nothing less than “one of the nation’s brightest legal minds”. “For too long, our governments and our courts have not looked like America. I think it’s time we had a court that reflects all the talents and the greatness of our nation, with a candidate endowed with extraordinary qualifications,” he said Friday at the White House, officially presenting the candidate.

Under the admiring gaze of Kamala Harris, first female vice-president, another “historic” decision by Joe Biden, Ketanji Brown Jackson had these words: “I just hope that my life, my career, my love of the country and the Constitution, and my commitment to the rule of law and the sacred principles upon which this nation was built, will inspire future generations of Americans.” Faith, family and justice are its three pillars.

In the United States, the appointments of judges to the Supreme Court are the subject of bitter battles, sometimes even psychodramas, as in 2016, when the Republicans did not want the choice of Barack Obama. The unsuccessful candidate Merrick Garland, is now Minister of Justice. With Donald Trump who managed to appoint three during his term, the court is now composed of six conservative judges and three progressives.

Praise from Paul Ryan

A mother of two daughters, Ketanji Brown Jackson has a surgeon husband who is related to Republican Paul Ryan, former Speaker of the House of Representatives under Trump, who dreamed of one day reaching the White House. A Paul Ryan who does not hide his admiration for her. With this sentence, which deserves to be remembered in the context of current ultra-polarization: “Our political convictions diverge but my admiration for the intellect, personality and integrity of Ketanji is absolute.” Mitch McConnellcurrent leader of the Republican minority in the Senate, had somewhat less pleasant remarks: “Judge Jackson was the preferred choice of the dark financial interests of the extreme left.”