On March 2, 38 Black, Law School Deans sent a letter of support for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s historic nomination to Senate Leadership and the Committee on the Judiciary.
The letter references Judge Jackson’s vast experience, including clerking for three federal judges, working in private practice, as well as her commitment to public service. Judge Jackson worked to reduce disparities in federal sentencing on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, first as Assistant Special Counsel and then as Vice Chair and Commissioner. Finally, she represented indigent criminal defendants as an Assistant Federal Public Defender.
In 2013, Judge Jackson was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. During her seven years as a trial judge on that court she presided over a wide range of cases and wrote over 550 opinions to resolve disputes.
“President Biden’s historic nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court marks the end to the systematic exclusion of an entire group of highly qualified candidates from our nation’s highest court” said Dean Matthew. Since its formation in 1790, 115 justices have been seated on the United States Supreme Court. For nearly two hundred years, all were white men. The first woman was appointed in 1981 when President Ronald Reagan fulfilled his campaign promise by naming Sandra Day O'Connor Associate Justice to the high court. Since that date, only five women have served on the Supreme Court, and none have been Black.
The letter urges Senate leadership and the Committee on the Judiciary for a swift confirmation. Each signer notes they are signing in their individual capacity, but remain unified in their belief that Judge Jackson is exceptionally well qualified and well prepared to serve on this nation’s highest Court.
See the full letter here.