WASHINGTON (CN) — Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's path toward becoming the first Black woman and first former federal public defender to serve on the nation's highest court kicked off Monday at the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.
Currently a judge on the D.C. Circuit, the 51-year-old Jackson sat for hours as the 22 lawmakers on the committee read opening statements that set the tenor for the week, with Democrats celebrating her resumé and Republicans questioning whether she had a bias against the criminal justice system itself.
The historic significance of Jackson's nomination was not lost on committee Chairman Dick Durbin, who kicked off the first day of the confirmation process with a reflection on the Supreme Court's history.
"The reality is that the court's members in one respect have never really reflected the nation they served," said Durbin, an Illinois Democrat. "When the Supreme Court met for the very first time, February of 1790 in the Exchange Building in New York, there were nearly 700,000 slaves without the right of citizenship in this new nation of nearly 4 million people. Neither African Americans or women had the right to vote. There was no equal justice under the law for a majority of people living in America."
Citing Jackson's background as a Harvard University and Harvard Law School graduate with experience in private practice, public defense, and trial and appeals court adjudication, Durbin called her nomination a remarkable moment in American history while also an unsurprising event given the length of her resumé.
"There are so many young African American women and law students, they're seeing your pursuit as part of their dream. And in other important ways, though, you're no different than many nominees who've come before us," Durbin said. "President Biden nominated you because he knew your qualifications are outstanding."
Jackson was nominated to serve as a trial judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 2012 by then-President Barack Obama. She became a Court of Appeals judge for the D.C. Circuit only last year, taking the seat vacated by now-Attorney General Merrick Garland, himself a former Supreme Court nominee.
If confirmed, Jackson would be the second sitting justice on the Supreme Court with experience as both a trial and appellate judge, the other being Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
From the outset, Republicans questioned Jackson's judicial philosophy, with Senator Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican on the committee, noting he isn't anti-defense attorney or anti-public defender, but has concerns about the philosophy of some criminal defense attorneys and will need to determine Jackson's approach to law.
"There are Bill of Rights attorneys who want to protect defendants' constitutional rights, then there are what I've called criminal defense lawyers who disagree with our criminal laws that they have policy disagreements with," Grassley said. "And of course, that's a very important difference."
Jackson served as a federal public defender from 2005 to 2007.
Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont who is the most senior member of the committee, asserted that Jackson's previous job titles were not a liability but an asset to a court that historically lacks professional diversity.
"She is not soft on crime. Her background as a federal public defender would bring an informed perspective of our criminal justice system to the Supreme Court," Leahy said. "I'm proud of being a former prosecutor, but confidence in my prosecution of a case was strongest when I knew the defendant had the best possible representation."
The right to counsel regardless of ability to pay is enshrined in the Sixth Amendment and fundamental to the U.S. justice system.
"To this end, a public defender should be looked at as one of the most honorable roles within our judicial system, and yet we have never had a public defender or anyone served as a public defender on our highest court," said Senator Cory Booker, a Democrat from New York.