Ketanji Brown Jackson marked a milestone in the US mission on Thursday when he was sworn in as the first black woman in history to sit in the nation’s Supreme Court – officially taking the title of justice.
Chief Justice John Roberts, in a brief ceremony at the Supreme Court, gave Jackson a constitutional oath, and retired Judge Stephen Brier, who Jackson was an employee about 20 years ago, took the oath.
Her husband, Dr. Patrick Jackson, held two Bibles – a family Bible and a Harlan Bible, a King James Bible donated to the Supreme Court in 1906 – until Jackson smiled broadly and finished repeating the oaths.
“On behalf of all the members of the court, I am pleased to welcome Judge Jackson to the court and to our common calling,” Roberts said as the other seven judges present applauded as Jackson shone.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. took the oath of office of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson at the Western Conference Hall, Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC, on June 30, 2022. Dr. Patrick Jackson holds the Bible.
Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States
Breyer shook her hand and whispered, “Congratulations,” before patting her on the back.
“I wholeheartedly accept the solemn responsibility to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States and to administer justice without fear or favor, so God help me,” Jackson said in a written statement. “I am truly grateful to be part of the promise of our great nation.”
She thanked her new colleagues “for their warm and kind welcome” and said she was “especially grateful for the time and attention they gave me from the Chief Justice and Judge Brier.”
“Justice Brayer has been a personal friend and mentor of mine for the past two decades, in addition to being part of today’s official act,” she wrote. “As a result of his exemplary ministry, with the support of my family and friends and always aware of my duty to promote the rule of law, I am in a good position to serve the American people.”
In his own statement, Breyer said he was “happy today” – for “Ketanji”, “for my fellow judges” and “for America”.
“Her hard work, integrity and intelligence have earned her a place in this court,” he said. “They win a colleague who is empathetic, considerate and collegial … Ketanji will interpret the law wisely and fairly, helping that law work better for the American people he serves.”
Judge Stephen G. Brayer (retired) and Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson stand in the Judges’ Chamber, in the Supreme Court building in Washington, DC, on June 30, 2022.
Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States
Roberts said during the ceremony that there would be a formal investment in the fall, but the oaths on Thursday would allow Jackson to take on his duties, “and she will eagerly reach them without further delay.”
Jackson said in the White House after her confirmation by the Senate: “It took 232 years and 115 previous appointments, but we succeeded.”
“And our kids tell me that now, more than ever, they see that anything is possible here in America,” she said.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. watched Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson sign the oaths in the Conference of Judges at the Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC, June 30, 2022.
Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States
Joining the court is also the first time four women will be sitting on a bench in the high court at the same time.
President Joe Biden announced in January that Breyer would retire at the end of his term after 27 years on the court, fulfilling the wishes of progressives who were wary of waiting, and starting what would become a one-month process for naming Jackson and another 42 days for her. confirmation.
Three Republicans eventually joined the Senate Democrats to reaffirm it, marking a significant political victory for Biden’s long-term legacy – and his short-term efforts to energize Democrats.
Biden said when considering nominations that he was looking for someone with Breyer’s judicial philosophy and a “pragmatic understanding that the law should work for the American people.” And with Jackson’s nomination, he fulfilled a key promise from the 2020 election campaign, ahead of the crucial South Carolina primary, that he would nominate the first black woman to court.
“This will allow so much sun to shine on so many young women, so many young black women,” Biden said in April, along with Jackson and Vice President Kamala Harris, the nation’s first woman and first black vice president. “We will look back and see this as a moment of real change in American history.”
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, with President Joe Biden, spoke after she was nominated as an associate judge of the U.S. Supreme Court at the White House Cross Hall in Washington on February 25, 2022.
Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images, FILE
The 51-year-old Jackson, a native of Washington, is leaving the DC County Court of Appeal, considered the most important federal court by the Supreme Court. She has more than eight years of experience in the federal bench, following the path through the judiciary traveled by many nominees before her.
Like other judicial assistants, she graduated from Harvard Law School, but has made her mark in history in many ways, as well as being the first former public defender and the first judge to grow up in Florida to sit in the Supreme Court. She will also be the first judge after Targud Marshall to have experience in criminal defense.
Asked what her message would be to young Americans during her confirmation in the Senate, she recalled to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which felt out of place at Harvard in its first semester – when a stranger gave a remarkable lesson in resilience.
“I was walking through the yard in the evening and a black woman I didn’t know was passing me on the sidewalk and she looked at me and I guess she knew how I felt. And she leaned over as we crossed and said, “Persevere,” Jackson said. “I’d tell them to persevere.”
Ketanji Brown Jackson, associate judge of US Supreme Court nominee Joe Biden, spoke during a Senate Justice hearing in Washington, DC, March 23, 2022.
Bloomberg via Getty Images
She also speaks with emotion about her descent from slaves and her parents, who grew up in Jim Crow South.
“It only took a generation in my family to move from segregation to the United States Supreme Court,” Jackson told the White House after being confirmed. “And it is an honor for me, the honor of a lifetime, to have this chance to join the court, to promote the rule of law at the highest level and to do my part to realize our common project of democracy and equality by law. forward into the future. “
Her two daughters, Talia, 21, and Leila, 17, also attended the brief but historic oath.
ABC News senior reporter Devin Dwyer contributed to the report.
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