President Joe Biden appointed Ketanji Brown to the Supreme Court on Friday. Jackson, a 51-year old federal appeals court judge, will be the first Black woman and former public defender to serve on the nation’s highest court.
Jackson’s nomination must be confirmed in the U.S. Senate. It would allow Biden, who campaigned to diversify the court, to fulfill his campaign promise. According to the Senate, they have set a tentative goal for confirmation by April 8. Associated Press.
Retired liberal Justice Stephen Breyer would be replaced by Jackson, who Jackson once clerked for. Jackson appears to be ideologically aligned with Breyer. Her confirmation would keep the courts divided of six conservative justices as well as three liberals. This would likely leave Jackson in a dissenting position for the immediate future.
The court is expected to rule on several important environmental cases within the next year, including a caseJackson’s mixed environmental record promises to be relevant as she is asked by the court to restrain the federal government’s authority over the nations waters, under the Clean Water Act. Jackson is a federal judge. Against environmental groupsAs often as she’s ruled in their favor.
Jackson ruled in favor a $160 million suit by Guam against U.S. Navy over failure to clean up a federal superfund site. She also sided with environmental groups that sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over failing to update nine air quality standards under the Trump administration.
However, she issued a ruling in which the Department of Homeland Security was allowed to waive more environmental laws to construct a segment of Trump’s borderwall. She claimed that these laws did not allow for judicial review of the administrations actions. (Legal Politico interviewed expertsJackson was suggested to be averse to federal agencies’ legal authority.
While acknowledging her complicated history, major environmental organizations like the Natural Resources Defense Council or NRDC and the Environmental Defense FundJacksons confirmation has been supported by many. (The NRDC and Environmental Defense Fund are advertisers with Grist; advertisers have no role in Grist’s editorial decisions.)
Manish Bapna, president NRDC, said that often the Supreme Court has the final say on whether or how laws are enforced to protect the environment and public safety. StatementFriday. These cases highlight the importance of confirming justices, and judges, such as Jackson, who respect precedents and recognize the government’s role in addressing consequential social issues, like protecting the environment or public health.
Jackson was confirmed last year to join the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. Circuit, the Sierra Club CelebrateThe decision. Courtney Hight, the group’s democracy program director, called Jacksons appointment historic. She described Jacksons career as a jurist who has dedicated her life to pursuing equal justice.
The unevenly divided Senate and the increasingly partisan nature confirmation proceedings will determine how Jackson’s path to the bench. Russia’s recent invasion in Ukraine and a stroke by Senator Ben Ray Lujan, a Democrat whose votes would be crucial if Jacksons support is not received by their senators, could complicate the timeline.
