In New Report, Lawyers’ Committee Recommends the Confirmation of Supreme Court Nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law released a report on Monday evaluating Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and recommending that she be confirmed by the Senate.  In the report, which reflects a thorough review of Judge Jackson’s record on civil rights issues of importance to the Lawyers’ Committee’s mission, the Lawyers’ Committee found that she possesses not only the exceptional competence necessary to serve on the Court, but also that she approaches legal questions with a profound respect for the importance of protecting the civil rights afforded by the Constitution and the nation’s civil rights laws. For these reasons, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law unequivocally supports the nomination of Judge Jackson to the Supreme Court of the United States.

“After carefully vetting Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s record, it is clear that she has the extraordinary qualifications, experience, and character to serve the nation on the Supreme Court,” said Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “Judge Jackson is a highly skilled and meticulous jurist who will bring a welcome perspective to the high court as the first Justice with experience as a public defender, and the first since Justice Thurgood Marshall to bring significant criminal defense experience to the Court. Just as Justice Marshall broke barriers as the first Black justice, Judge Jackson will become the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court when she is confirmed. Judge Jackson’s extraordinary legal career demonstrates that she will be a champion for justice, and a defender of civil rights, and can be counted on to be fair and impartial as the Court decides some of the most monumental cases of our time. She is the right person for this moment and will help the Supreme Court return to its highest calling of being a driver of fairness and equality.”

The report is accompanied by a letter of support signed by over 100 members of the Lawyers’ Committee’s national advisory Board and its Executive Committee—all among the nation’s leading attorneys in the private bar, corporate and nonprofit leadership, and the legal academy.

Shirlethia V. Franklin, who chaired a committee of leading attorneys who served on the organization’s Supreme Court Nomination Committee, stated: “Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s remarkable record reflects a jurist who respects and follows the letter of the law while never losing sight of the practical impact of her rulings on the parties who appear before her. Once confirmed, Judge Jackson will be the first Black woman Justice to serve on the Supreme Court in the Court’s 232-year history, marking a tremendous moment for the Court and our nation. Her highly anticipated presence on the Court—bringing with her a breadth of experiences, sterling credentials, and a judicial philosophy that applies the law equally to all—would be a significant step forward for our democracy.”

Recognizing the Supreme Court’s critical role in civil rights enforcement and the central role that the Court plays in our democracy, the Lawyers’ Committee has long reviewed the record of nominees to the Court to determine if they demonstrate views that are consistent with the core civil rights principles for which the organization has long advocated. Like prior Lawyers’ Committee reports on Supreme Court nominees, the report on Judge Jackson is based on the nominee’s full record—including opinions she authored or joined while serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, her tenure on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, testimony during her three prior confirmation hearings, and her work and writings as a private attorney and a federal public defender.

View the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law report here.