US Swears In First Black Woman To Serve On Its Supreme Court

The lifetime appointment will likely see Ms Jackson on the bench for decades but will not shift the current ideological balance of the Supreme Court
The addition of Ms Jackson to the court means that its liberal minority will be made up entirely of women

EDITOR’S PICK

EKO HOT BLOG reports that Ketanji Brown Jackson has been sworn in as the newest associate Supreme Court justice, becoming the first black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court.

The appointment follows one of the most consequential Supreme Court terms in recent memory, with significant rulings on abortion and gun rights.

Jackson, 51, will replace Justice Stephen Breyer, joining the court’s three-member liberal minority.

She accepts “the solemn responsibility” of the role, she said in a statement.

The former public defender joins the court at a tumultuous period in its history. The nine-member court is currently split between six Republican-appointed justices and three picked by Democrats.

In recent weeks it delivered several blockbuster decisions – overturning the 50-year-old Roe v Wade decision on abortion, striking down a New York law restricting gun-carrying rights, and limiting the US Environmental Protection Agency’s power to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The lifetime appointment will likely see Ms Jackson on the bench for decades but will not shift the current ideological balance of the court.

FURTHER READING

The addition of Ms Jackson to the court means that its liberal minority – with Justice Elena Kagan and Justice Sonia Sotomayor – will be made up entirely of women.

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