Ketanji Brown Jackson

Details

Birth

September 14, 1970 · Washington, D.C.

Death

Living

Law school

harvard university

Prior experience

U.s. court of appeals judge

Biography

Ketanji Brown Jackson (born September 14, 1970) is an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, having taken her oath of office on June 30, 2022. She became the first Black woman to serve on the Court in its 233-year history. Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Miami, Florida, Jackson graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1992 and earned her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1996, where she served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Following law school, she clerked for three federal judges, including Justice Stephen Breyer, whom she would later replace on the Supreme Court. Jackson's judicial career began with her appointment to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in 2013, where she served until 2021. During her tenure, she authored significant opinions in cases involving executive privilege and congressional subpoena power, including ruling against the Trump administration's attempts to block testimony from former White House counsel Don McGahn. In 2021, President Joe Biden nominated her to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Her judicial philosophy emphasizes careful attention to precedent, statutory text, and constitutional principles, with a methodical approach to legal analysis. Jackson has described her interpretive methodology as focusing on the original public meaning of constitutional text while considering the practical implications of judicial decisions. Since joining the Supreme Court, she has participated in major cases involving affirmative action, voting rights, and regulatory authority, though her full legacy continues to develop as the Court's newest member.

Notable opinions

• Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard
• Allen v. Milligan