Ketanji Brown Jackson

Does Justice Jackson Offer a Path to Defend Rights Through Originalism?

by Evan Turiano

Abolitionists and the drafters of the Reconstruction Amendments understood that the legitimacy of broader claims to rights and citizenship depended on making a claim on the purposes set forth for the Constitution. Ketanji Brown Jackson's recent voting rights dissent suggests she hopes to revive that tradition. 

Justice Jackson's Questioning in Voting Rights Case Shows History Won't be Left to Court's Right Wing

The new Associate Justice pushed back against the idea that the writers of the 14th Amendment intended for it to ensure "color-blind" treatment of voters rather than an affirmative defense of racially inclusive political participation. 

The Dark Money Behind KBJ Attacks Is Coming for Public Schools

by Alyssa Bowen

"Dark Money" organizations allow a small group of elite families to use their wealth to control the content of education around the country. 

What Tom Cotton Got Wrong about Robert H. Jackson and Nuremberg

by Gillian Brockell

"Jackson not only supported the Nuremberg defendants’ right to counsel, he was a key part of the governing body that enshrined it into international law."

Historic Echoes as Mississippi Senators Vote No on Jackson Nomination

Did some statements made by Republicans echo Senator James Eastland's questioning whether Thurgood Marshall was "prejudiced against the white people of the South"? 

Ketanji Brown Jackson's Forbearance Echoed Jackie Robinson Before HUAC

by Bruce W. Dearstyne

In a Congressional hearing intended to sow guilt by association between civil rights and global communism, the baseball great refused to take the bait, keeping the focus on the need for justice and fairness in America.

How QAnon Catchphrases Took Over the KBJ Hearings

by Donald Moynihan

"QAnon, a sprawling set of baseless conspiracy claims, is built on nods and winks, which has allowed it to move from the fringes to the center of American politics without toppling the mainstream conservative politicians who are courting its adherents."

KBJ Confirmation Shows Misremembrance of MLK as Advocate of "Colorblindness"

by Bev-Freda Jackson

"Jackson’s appointment holds a significant symbolic value and adds an important message about the legacy of King’s sermons, speeches and writings."

Ted Cruz is an Unwitting Publicist for Left-Leaning Books

If you have written a book about racism, policing, or other controversial issues, your best promotional strategy is to have Senator Cruz wave your book around in a televised Senate hearing. 

A Pledge to Recuse by KBJ Likely Means the End of Affirmative Action

by Keisha N. Blain

With a challenge to Harvard's affirmative action looming, Judge Jackson's pledge to recuse herself means that the Supreme Court is more likely to rule that affirmative action in private university admissions is unconstitutional, with the likely consequence of increasing racial inequality. 

Hawley's Attacks on KBJ Part of Long History of Politicizing Child Abuse Panics

Historian Paul Renfro explains the rising fears of child abduction in the 1980s and the way those fears have been used politically. 

KBJ Confirmation Questions Show Republicans Willing to Throw Out Vast Swaths of Civil Rights Law

by Heather Cox Richardson

"Madison was on to something when he warned that there was a connection between establishing a religion and destroying American democracy."

Why Have No Evangelical Christians Served on Supreme Court?

Evangelicals are arguably the most politically engaged religious group in America, with strong views on issues before the court. Yet Ketanji Brown Jackson could become the first nondenominational Protestant to sit on the highest court. 

Decoding Partisan Declarations of What Makes a "Good Judge"

by James D. Zirin

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has a wealth of legal and judicial experience. The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to counsel under the Constitution. Why, then, is her service as a public defender a source of partisan attacks on her nomination? 

Senate Votes to Confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to SCOTUS After Contentious Hearings

Historians weigh in on Justice Jackson's historic appointment and the partisanship of the confirmation hearings. 

Ted Cruz Called Bushrod Washington "Uncontroversial" Court Nominee. His Slaves Probably weren't Asked

by Gillian Brockell

The Texas senator identified the decisions of the Supreme Court on abortion, civil rights, and other issues in the 1960s and 1970s as the origin of political wrangling over court appointments. 

12 Questions that Would Actually Help Us Learn Something about Ketanji Brown Jackson

Legal historians, law professors, and other scholars propose productive questions Senators could ask Biden's Supreme Court nominee, if they cared to stop grandstanding and speechifying.

Ketanji Brown Jackson's Confirmation Hearings Highlight the Historic Domination of the Judiciary by White Men

"Representation has tangible benefits — research has shown the benefits of increasing judicial race and gender diversity, including heightening trust within minority populations and addressing gender bias in courtrooms."

Hair Politics in Ketanji Brown Jackson's Confirmation Hearing

by Robyn Autry

The significance of appearance isn’t just about styling choices. It’s about identity, life experience and perspective. 

The "Who Cares if You're Innocent" Project on the Right

Recent Senate hearings for Biden's court nominees, and the opinions of some Supreme Court justices on criminal cases, suggest that constitutional protections for the right to counsel are in jeopardy, says legal historian Sara Mayeux.