Washington – Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in as deputy justice of the Supreme Court on Thursday, officially replacing her in history as the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court.
“We are here today to perform the oath of office for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to become an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States,” Chief Justice John Roberts said at the start of the ceremony. , admitting the oath would allow Jackson to begin her work “without any further delay.”
In a brief, televised Supreme Court ceremony, Jackson took his first constitutional oath, run by Roberts, followed by a judicial oath, by now retired Justice Stephen Breyer. onion. Breyer’s retirement from the supreme court was officially announced at noon on Thursday, paving the way for Jackson, his former secretary, to take his seat.
“On behalf of all members of the court, I am pleased to welcome Justice Jackson to the court and to our collective appeal,” Roberts said, as applause broke out. Jackson took the oath with her hand on two Bibles held by her husband, Patrick: a Family Bible, and the “Harlan” Bible, which Justice John Marshall Harlan presented to the court in 1906.
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Attending the swearing-in ceremony were most of Jackson’s new colleagues: Judges Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, as well as former Attorney General Anthony Kennedy.
In a statement distributed by the court, Jackson, 51, thanked Roberts and Breyer, calling him a “personal friend and mentor” for 20 years. She said she was “well positioned to serve the American people.”
“With all my heart, I accept the solemn responsibility of supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States and administering justice without fear or favor, so help me, Lord,” she said. “I am truly grateful to be a part of the promise of our great country. I extend my sincerest thanks to all of my new colleagues for their warm and considerate welcome. surname.”
Breyer congratulates the latest justice.
“I congratulate Ketanji today. Her hard work, integrity and intelligence have earned her a place on this court. I am happy for my judges. They have a sympathetic colleague. , thoughtful and co-worker. I’m happy for America,” he said in a statement. “Ketanji will interpret the law wisely and fairly, helping it work better for the American people, the people it serves.”
Breyer announced in January plans to step down at the end of his term, giving President Biden his first chance to make his mark on the supreme court. Jackson’s addition would not change the ideological structure of the court, which is tightly controlled by a conservative six-justice majority.
“I am honored that my first judicial candidate for President – the brilliant attorney who became ‘Judge Jackson’ – has now become ‘Justice Jackson,'” Mr Biden said in a statement. on Thursday. “Her historic oath today represents a profound step forward for our nation, for all those young, Black girls who now find themselves reflected before the dark court. Our high court and to all of us as Americans, the Supreme Court has just acquired a co-worker with the world – the intellectual class, the dignified temperament that the American people have come to expect from a public office. reason, and the most authentic information imaginable.”
Mr. Biden also thanked Breyer for “years of exemplary service.”
Jackson, who has served on the federal appeals court in Washington, has confirmed by the Senate in a bipartisan vote in April.
Although the three Republican senators ultimately joined all 50 Democrats in voting through Jackson’s nomination, her confirmation hearings were not without controversy, as some GOP senators try to paint her as a soft crime activist judge who will legislate from the bench.
Their criticisms, directed at Jackson’s sentencing record in child pornography cases as a federal trial court judge, failed efforts by Democratic Senate leaders. President and the White House in promoting bipartisan support for Jackson’s nomination, piercing the partisan polarization of the Supreme Court’s recently confirmed fight.