Brooklyn officials hail Judge Jackson’s nomination to US Supreme Court

February 25, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson reacts after President Joe Biden announced Jackson as his nominee to the Supreme Court in the Cross Hall of the White House, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022, in Washington. AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

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On Friday, Brooklyn Democratic elected officials, and others, hailed President Joseph Biden’s nomination of federal Appeals Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In Jackson, Biden delivered on a campaign promise to make the historic appointment of a Black woman to the court. He also chose an attorney who would be the high court’s first former public defender, though she possesses the elite legal background of other justices as well.

Jackson, 51, once worked as one of retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s law clerks early in her legal career. She attended Harvard as an undergraduate and for law school, and served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, the agency that develops federal sentencing policy, before becoming a federal judge in 2013.

Assemblymember and Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn. Photo courtesy of NYS Assembly

Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, who is also the chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, said in a statement, “We are bearing witness to history today. Ketanji Brown Jackson, an experienced judge and brilliant legal mind, will be the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. For me, and women of color everywhere, this is a highly-anticipated day, and consequential milestone for our nation.”

U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), a lifelong Brooklynite, tweeted, “Supreme Court clerk for Justice Stephen Breyer, federal public defender, Federal district Court judge, judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit —Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has demonstrated a commitment to freedom, equality, and the rule of law throughout her career.

U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-Eastern Brooklyn-Southwest Brooklyn) said, “Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is a groundbreaking, visionary, highly capable legal mind who has dedicated her career to ensuring that the rights and protections afforded by our Constitution apply equally to those who need them the most. Her time as a public defender, on the U.S. Sentencing Commission and as a federal judge, combined with her life experience as a Black woman, has provided her with unique knowledge and perspective to strengthen the high court and balance the scales of justice.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, a lifelong Brooklynite, speaks at a news conference in Washington, Feb. 8, 2022. AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File

U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-Brooklyn) said, in part, “These are the moments that make history. President Biden’s nomination of DC Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court, is not just timely and necessary, it is crucial to a healthy democracy. This historic nomination is a renewed promise of America in pursuit of a more just society and I am deeply grateful to be a witness to this change in the winds toward a more equitable future society.”

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said, “Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s experience as a public defender, a trial court judge, and an appellate judge will add valuable professional diversity to the Supreme Court. She would not only bring her brilliant legal mind and dedication to protecting our rights to the bench, she would make history in the process. I commend President Biden for his commitment to making our nation’s highest court look more like our nation.”

New York State Attorney General Letitia James, a former City Councilmember from Brooklyn, said. “Today is an important, historic day for all Americans, but especially for every little Black girl who, for the first time, will soon see herself represented in the highest court of the land. From her time as a public defender, through her current role as circuit judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is a brilliant legal mind who has dedicated her life and career to public service and justice in all forms.”

New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, also a former City Councilmember representing Brooklyn, said, “One hundred and twenty-five years after our nation’s highest court upheld segregation, the first Black woman has been nominated to the Supreme Court. I congratulate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on her historic nomination, one which I hope will send a powerful message to young Black women across the nation, like my daughters, about what they can do, and what still has to be done.”

The Legal Aid Society issued a statement saying, “Today is historic, and we can’t think of any better candidate to fill this vacancy than Ketanji Brown Jackson, who, if confirmed, would be the first Black woman and public defender to sit on our nation’s highest court. Black women have been deprived of representation on the Supreme Court for over 230 years, but Jackson’s confirmation would further shatter a concrete ceiling that has long kept the Court overwhelmingly homogeneous — 108 out of 115 justices have been white men.”

Brooklyn Councilmember Farah Louis issued a statement saying, “President Joseph R. Biden’s nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court today is a monumental breakthrough for women of color, who have historically been underserved and underrepresented on the bench of our nation’s highest court. Ketanji Brown Jackson would bring new perspective as the first Black woman Supreme Court Justice in addition to her stellar record as a Harvard Law School graduate, a public defender, and multiple clerkships, including one for Justice Breyer, whose seat she would assume.”