Former Washington state justice: Biden Supreme Court pick brings diversity in more than one way
Feb 25, 2022, 8:24 AM
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
President Joe Biden is expected to announce his nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, as a move that former Washington State Supreme Court Justice Phil Talmadge says is significant in a number of ways.
State leaders react as Supreme Court weighs challenge to abortion laws
If confirmed by the Senate, Jackson would become the first Black woman to ever serve on the nation’s highest court. She previously worked as a law clerk for departing Justice Stephen Breyer, and attended Harvard for her undergraduate and law degrees. She became a federal judge in 2013, and served on a federal commission that determines sentencing policies.
“This is an historic appointment,” Talmadge — who served on Washington state’s Supreme Court for six years — told KIRO Newsradio. “The president has fulfilled his campaign promise to provide greater diversity to the court in terms of the experience of this nominee as well as her ethnicity, and that’s a very significant thing for the public and for the court.”
“It gives the public the sense that this is a court that’s diverse, and appreciates the tapestry that is the United States of America,” he added.
Jackson was appointed by President Biden to serve on the U.S. District Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C., in 2021, and was confirmed by the Senate by a 53-44 vote margin. That particular position comes with a fair amount of prestige as well, given that three sitting justices — John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, and Brett Kavanaugh — each served on that court prior to their own respective promotions to the U.S. Supreme Court.
State Supreme Court rules in favor of homeless Seattle man whose truck was towed
Given that, Talmadge believes the combination of Jackson’s experience and legal prowess makes her an ideal fit.
“Internally, in the court, the critical thing is going to be that experience and her intellectual abilities — which are significant — and that she’s demonstrated as a judge of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals,” he opined.
Jackson will need to go before the Senate Judiciary Committee for confirmation hearings. If she clears that hurdle, her nomination would then go before the full Senate, where she would need a simple majority in order to be seated on the Supreme Court. That process is expected to take several weeks.
