Ever since supreme court justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement in January of this year, President Joe Biden has been looking to appoint a replacement. This process finally concluded on April 7, 2022, when Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was appointed to serve on the Supreme Court. This nomination is historic considering she is the first black woman to be a Supreme Court Justice. 

Jackson comes from a family experienced in law. She states that her inspiration comes from watching her dad complete his law school work while she was only preschool aged. While she was born in Washington, DC, she grew up in Miami Dade County and excelled in speech and debate during high school.  

The process to appoint Jackson wasn’t easy though. She only won by 6 votes, with the final confirmation vote being 53-47.  Her confirmation hearings caused lots of controversy as well. Many of her opponents believed her to be a dangerous far-left judge who was too lenient on crimes like terrorism and pedophilia. Much of her questioning process involved her being frequently asked on her rulings involving these crimes. 

Many of her proponents cited her high qualifications as reasons to why she should be confirmed. For example, she is the justice on the court who has served as a public defender, and the only justice besides the previous Justice Breyer to be a sentencing commission judge. 

Despite all the effort it took, Judge Jackson could not be more relieved to serve on the Supreme Court, stating: “It has taken 232 years and 115 prior appointments for a black woman to be selected to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States, but we’ve made it! We’ve made it- all of us.”