On April 7, 2022, the Senate confirmed the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to fill the next term's vacancy on the bench with Justice Stephen Breyer's upcoming retirement. In an often-contentious confirmation process that included questions lobbed from Republican senators on Judge Jackson's position on child pornography, critical race theory, court-packing, transgender rights, and her role as a public defender for Guantanamo Bay detainees, Jackson was confirmed 53-47 with bipartisan support. The affirmative votes included all 50 Democratic-voting senators and Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mitt Romney of Utah. Senators Murkowski and Romney announced their support for Jackson as a procedural vote was taking place. While Jackson's confirmation does not change the ideological make-up of the bench, it is historic given that she is the first Black female justice among the 115 justices who have served on the 233-year-old Court.
Background
Judge Jackson, age 51, received her law degree from Harvard University, where she was graduated in 1996 with a Juris Doctor cum laude. Judge Jackson's legal career included three clerkships. She served as a law clerk to Judge Patti Saris of the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts from 1996-1997; she then served Judge Bruce Selya of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit from 1997-1998; and...
