President Joe Biden has officially nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court position previously held by Justice Stephen Breyer, who is retiring. The nomination makes Jackson, 51, the first Black woman to possibly fulfill the role. Jackson is currently a judge within the DC federal appellate court.
Prior to becoming judge, Jackson graduated from Harvard Law School with a J.D., cume laude, before becoming a clerk to three federal judges, including Breyer, Judge Bruce M. Selya of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and Judge Patti B. Saris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. She would serve in the capacity of commissioner and vice chair for the U.S. Sentencing Commission under the Barack Obama Administration.
During her appointment, she would be essential in reducing sentencing for crack cocaine offenses and establishing a two offense-level reduction for crimes related to drugs.
The married mother-of-two who grew up in Miami, Florida was successful in aiding one of her uncles, who was given a life sentence for a nonviolent cocaine conviction.
Jackson will need 51 votes from the senate, which consists of 48 Democrats, 50 Republicans, and two independents, in order for her to secure the vote for justice of the highest court in the land.
