Judge Ketanji Brown Johnson continues to meet with Senators ahead of the March 21 hearings regarding her groundbreaking nomination to Supreme Court. The Court continues to examine cases that directly affect our daily lives. The Court’s main concern is the threat to public health and the environment. Government efforts to combat these threats are also on the Court’s agenda.
It will decide a matter before a Justice Jackson joins it. CaseThis seriously jeopardizes the EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from coal fired power plants under the Clean Air Act. This could have a significant impact on the efforts of Biden Administration to combat climate changes. It could also be very detrimental. LimitFederal agencies have the power to regulate health care, workplace safety and telecommunications as well as the financial sector.
The Court has already agreed that it will hear another important environmental dispute in 2022-22-23. Other cases could be considered by the Court that support the far-right agenda to invalidate many federal efforts to protect public safety and health. Jackson alone cannot change the current conservative Court majority. However, she could play a significant role in these crucial controversies which affect all of us.
What cases concerning environment and public health will the Court consider when it joins the new justice system?
One case could cause serious damage to the environment. Significantly weakening the Clean Water Act (CWA). The Court previously ruled the CWA protects wetlands that have a significant connection to rivers and lakes. Wetlands are ecosystems with significant vegetation that are temporarily or permanently flooded by water.
Far-right justices, industry and the judiciary have attempted to reverse this earlier decision. They want to limit CWAs coverage to wetlands with a continuous surface connection from lakes or rivers.
This case could devastate EPA efforts in protecting wetlands from environmental destruction. This would be worse than the pending case that the Court will decide before Judge Jackson joins Court. This could limit EPA’s authority under Clean Air Act. As one environmental expertSimply put, the Court’s new conservative supermajority seems more inclined to slash and burn our major environmental laws.
Is it likely that the Court will consider cases concerning the government’s ability protect public health?
Probably, yes. A requirement that big businesses guarantee workers COVID-19 vaccinations was recently rejected by the Courts far-right majority. Trump judges on lower courts went even further. They have revoked vaccination requirements for Head Start workers, which are intended to protect vulnerable children and their families. They have blocked federal contractors, federal employees, and military personnel from being vaccinated. Recently, the Pentagon requested that the Court revoke an order. Blocked reassignmentNavy SEALs who were not vaccinated.
It is possible that appeals courts may uphold government authority to protect the public’s health in such cases. If the Supreme Court does not uphold the government’s authority to protect public health, the Justice Department will likely file more appeals. It may also request Court review of any other rulings that restrict federal agencies’ ability protect our health or the environment. A judge recently stopped agency efforts in order to better calculate and control harmful effects of climate gases.
What can a Justice Jackson new Justice do?
She will replace Justice Stephen Breyer who will likely join a dissent in the EPA case. The Court will continue to be skeptical of federal agency efforts in protecting health, safety and the environment, due to Trump justices being added to it. Jackson herself would only be able to speak and vote in such cases. It will take progressives many years of hard work to change the Court as the Far Right did.
However, even this Court sometimes supports such agency efforts. A recent 5-4 decision allowed COVID-19’s vaccination rule regarding Medicare and Medicaid workers to move forward. Judge Jackson is known for being a respected judge. consensus builderon divisive issues at the US Sentencing Commission. These skills will serve her well in her agency authority to protect the environment and health at the Supreme Court. As Rev. Leslie Watson Wilson was recently It is best to put it, [a]All Americans will benefit when decisions and deliberations on America’s highest court are influenced by the perspective of a Black woman judge.
This will likely to increase disapproval of far-right Court rulings. This will encourage Congress and the Court to reconsider such issues in the future. Congress could, for instance, reverse some of Court’s damage by authorizing agencies such as EPA to act more explicitly.
The problems created by the right-wing Supreme Court will not be solved by replacing Justice Breyer with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. It is an important first step, however, because the Court deals directly with issues such as protecting our environment and health, which are issues that affect all Americans.