Biography
Ketanji Brown Jackson is an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving since June 30, 2022. She is the first female African American justice and the first former federal public defender to serve on the Supreme Court, and is the sixth female justice.
Jackson was born on Sept. 14, 1970, in Washington, DC, and grew up in the Miami, Florida area. She graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor's degree in government, magna cum laude, in 1992 and a Juris Doctor, cum laude, in 1996. She served as the supervising editor of the Harvard Law Review from 1995-1996.
Prior to her confirmation to the Supreme Court, Jackson was a judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (2021-2022) and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (2013-2021). Other previous legal experience includes serving as assistant special counsel, vice chair and commissioner on the U.S. Sentencing Commission; as a federal public defender; as a private practice lawyer; and as a law clerk at all three levels of the federal judiciary, including for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.
Sources:
Ballotpedia (n.d.). Ketanji Brown Jackson. Retrieved on June 30, 2022, from https://ballotpedia.org/Ketanji_Brown_Jackson.
Supreme Court of the United States (n.d.). Current Members. Retrieved on June 30, 2022, from https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/biographies.aspx.
The White House (n.d.) The Senate Confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson to Serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Retrieved on June 30, 2022, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/kbj.
Speeches
- Commemorate and Mourn, Celebrate and Warn – Sept. 15, 2023
- Commencement Address at Boston University School of Law - May 21, 2023
- Commencement Address at American University Washington College of Law - May 20, 2023
- Remarks After U.S. Supreme Court Confirmation - April 8, 2022
- Opening Statement at the U.S. Supreme Court Confirmation Hearing - March 21, 2022
- U.S. Supreme Court Nomination Acceptance - Feb. 25, 2022
- University of Pennsylvania Law School Commencement Address - May 17, 2021