Lambda Legal Statement on the Historic Nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court

In response to President Joseph Biden’s nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court today, Lambda Legal's CEO Kevin Jennings issued the following statement:

“With President Biden’s nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, he has fulfilled his pledge to elevate a Black woman to the highest court in the land, an historic moment that we celebrate. Our institutions, including the Supreme Court, are stronger when they reflect the great diversity of the United States. We know that the inclusion of different perspectives, histories, and experiences on our nation’s highest court will increase public trust in the institution and enhance the Court’s decision-making.

“The credibility of the Supreme Court, as one of the three branches of our constitutional system, hinges on whether the justices appointed to serve are committed to equal justice for all. The country as a whole is entitled to expect that justices sitting on the nation’s highest Court will understand the connection between civil rights and the health of our democracy and will recognize the importance of ensuring that historically excluded groups—like the LGBTQ+ community and people living with HIV—can have confidence that their rights will be fairly adjudicated in a court of law. In the face of unrelenting state legislative attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, particularly transgender youth, the stakes could not be higher. When combined with the attacks on reproductive rights, voting rights, and nondiscrimination protections more broadly, every person should appreciate the importance and gravity of President Biden’s choice to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court at this time in our nation’s history. 

"Lambda Legal’s preliminary review of Judge Jackson’s record gives us significant comfort that she can be trusted to administer the fair and impartial justice the country needs. We urge the Senate Judiciary Committee to act thoroughly and promptly in fulfilling their constitutional duty to consider President Biden’s nominee. All of us deserve and must insist upon a Supreme Court whose members are committed to upholding the Constitution, including its sacred guarantees of liberty, equality, and justice for all.”

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Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit since June 2021, after being confirmed with a bipartisan 53-44 vote.  Prior to her elevation, Judge Jackson served on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, with her nomination receiving affirmation by the full Senate through a voice vote in 2013.  She was the Vice Chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission from 2010 to 2014, having previously served as an assistant special counsel to the Commission earlier in her career.  Among her other professional experiences, Judge Jackson was an appellate litigator with Morrison & Foerster, and an assistant federal public defender in Washington, D.C.