Biden nominates African-American Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to Supreme Court

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, poses for a portrait, Friday, Feb. 18, 2022, in her Washington court office.

She was appointed, this Friday, February 25, 2022, to the Supreme Court.

AP - Jacquelyn Martin

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

US President Joe Biden on Friday appointed Federal Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, the highest court in the United States, where she will become the first black woman to serve.

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" 

," tweeted the US president, who will formally introduce the magistrate at a ceremony at the White House on Friday afternoon.

Ketanji Brown Jackson will have to be confirmed by the Senate to join the body, currently with a conservative majority, which settles important social debates in the United States.

I'm proud to announce that I am nominating Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the Supreme Court.

Currently serving on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, she is one of our nation's brightest legal minds and will be an exceptional Justice.https://t.co/iePvhz1YaA pic.twitter.com/Nzqv2AtN8h

— President Biden (@POTUS) February 25, 2022

If confirmed by the Senate, this brilliant 51-year-old jurist will become the first African-American magistrate in the high institution, where only two black men have sat so far.

Family experience of the penal system

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson admits to having “ 

” from her colleagues, and not just because she is black.

She will be one of the few women to have professional and intimate experience of the penal system.

While most judges at this level have distinguished themselves as prosecutors, Ketanji Brown Jackson has worked on the side of the accused: for two years she was a lawyer in the legal aid services in Washington, where she defended defendants without resources.

She then recounted having been “

” by their ignorance of the law and having, once she became a judge, taken “ 

” to explain her decisions to the condemned.

More personal still: one of his uncles received a life sentence in 1989 under a very repressive law which automatically imposed life imprisonment after three offenses against the laws on narcotics.

Although she was not close to him, "

," a friend told the

, on condition of anonymity.

Ketanji Brown Jackson had a very stable childhood in a family of teachers living in Florida.

She is a graduate of the prestigious Harvard University, from which she graduated with honors.

The Washington Federal Court of Appeals as a springboard

As soon as she arrived at the White House, Joe Biden appointed her to the influential Federal Court of Appeals in Washington, considered a springboard for the Supreme Court.

The primary mission of this key institution of the United States is to ensure the constitutionality of laws.

Ketanji Brown Jackson will be the sixth woman to serve on the highest court in the United States, where judges are appointed for life.

She will replace Liberal Justice

, who announced his retirement in January.

The balance of the Supreme Court, of six conservatives for three liberals, will remain unchanged by this nomination. 

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