Kentanji Brown Jackson, another black face in a high position?
Kentanji Brown Jackson, another black face in a high position?
(Feb. 25, 2022)
Congratulations to Mrs. Kentanji Jackson, officially nominated by U.S.
President Joe Biden officially on February 25, 2022. Mrs. Jackson will be the first black woman to sit on the Supreme Court, which is a historic feat no doubt. Jackson is more than qualified; she currently sits on the Washington D.C. Federal Appellate Court, was previously a clerk for Stephen Breyer and, served as a federal public defender in Washington. She was also a commissioner on the US Sentencing Commission and served on the federal district court in DC, as an appointee of President Barack Obama prior to being appointed to the Washington D.C. Federal Appellate Court by President Biden. Kentanji Jackson is certainly qualified, but there is still a lot of mystery pertaining to whom she really is, as well as her views on the various issues she will be tackling as a future Supreme Court judge.
Jackson has an extremely limited written record. Most of her district court opinions are not very descriptive in defining her views or approach to the law. She did write several very long opinions as a district court judge however; she only has one published opinion as an appellate judge. That opinion was released roughly about 24 hours before her nomination. She surprisingly has very little else written beyond these opinions. President Biden himself stated that his nominee must follow a “living constitution approach including a broad view of “unenumerated rights.” When asked if she supported the approach outlined by President Biden, Mrs. Jackson has been far more perplexing and mystified in her response. When she was nominated for the district court, Jackson’s response was “no” to that question. However, when she was nominated for the appellate court, she became more evasive and somewhat baffling with her answer telling the Senate that she simply did not have experience with such interpretations as a judge.
Before Kentanji Jackson was officially nominated to the Supreme Court and still being considered for the position, Alabama’s first Black federal judge,
U.W. Clemon, sent a letter to President Biden, advising him against appointing Kentanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the letter, Clemon cited Jackson’s ruling in a 2016 class-action case against Lockheed Martin on behalf of 5,500 Black workers. She declined to approve a settlement that had been reached and would have paid out $22 million to the plaintiffs, according to Clemon. In addition to the payout, reforms would have been made in Lockheed’s evaluation system for pay and promotions.
Glass half-full
On the bright side, Jackson is a leading expert on federal sentencing policy. She previously served as vice chair of the United States Sentencing Commission, where she helped reduce sentences for drug offenders. If confirmed, she will also be the only justice with significant experience representing low-income criminal defendants.Glass half-empty
The downside for Mrs. Jackson is that Supreme Court confirmations are largely more centered on ideology as opposed to just qualifications. Jackson will now face confirmation in a largely conservative majority. Her impressive resume is unlikely to move any Republican senators to confirm someone who is likely to often disagree with most of her ideologies. Through no fault of her own, DC-based federal appellate courts often handle and specialize in very technical disputes involving federal agencies. Unfortunately, Jackson has not heard many cases involving the kind pressing issues that dominate Supreme Court confirmation hearings such as race, abortion, gun control, etc.Kentanji Jackson’s record reveals someone who is very comfortable navigating her way through a plethora of conflicting statutes and laws, but she is also someone who has never handed down a significant decision related to the type issues that she will deal with consistently at the Supreme Court level.