April 7, 2022

 

On Friday, February 25, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated the honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson to become the 116th Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. On April 7, 2022, a bipartisan group of Senators confirmed Judge Jackson’s nomination. 

 

Upon taking the oath of office, Judge Jackson will become the first African American woman to serve on the Supreme Court.  Her historic nomination and confirmation comes on the heels of associate justice Stephen Breyer’s impending retirement, which will create a vacancy.

 

Judge Jackson currently serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Colombia, and before that, she served as a federal district judge in Washington, D.C. Judge Jackson previously worked as a public defender, and if she is ultimately appointed to the Court, she would be the first justice since Justice Thurgood Marshall to have significant experience as a defense lawyer.

 

Judge Jackson was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Miami, Florida.  Her parents attended segregated primary schools.  Judge Jackson lives with her husband, Patrick, and their two daughters in Washington.