Nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson

On Feb. 25, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to succeed Justice Stephen Breyer upon his retirement. If confirmed by the Senate, Jackson would become the 116th justice of the Supreme Court and the first Black woman justice. Here is a collection of resources on Jackson’s nomination.

Jackson speaks at the University of Chicago in February 2020. (Lloyd DeGrane via Wikimedia Commons)

Background & process

• Profile of Ketanji Brown Jackson (Amy Howe)
• A view from the Cross Hall: A relatively subdued setting for a groundbreaking nomination (Mark Walsh)
• What senators are saying: Tracking reactions to Jackson’s nomination (Ellena Erskine)
• The process in the Senate: What to expect (Katie Barlow)
• Jackson’s responses to Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire
• Selected primary materials collected by Congressional Research Service

Judicial opinions

Adam Feldman of Empirical SCOTUS has compiled a database of more than 500 decisions written by Jackson during her eight years as a federal district judge and her one year as a federal appellate judge. Here are some of Jackson’s most significant opinions:

• AFL-CIO v. Federal Labor Relations Authority (Jan. 28, 2022)
• Kiakombua v. Wolf (Oct. 30, 2020)
• AFL-CIO v. National Labor Relations Board (June 7, 2020) (amended on July 1, 2020)
• Committee on the Judiciary v. McGahn (Nov. 25, 2019)
• Make the Road New York v. McAleenan (Sept. 27, 2019)
• Center for Biological Diversity v. McAleenan (Sept. 5, 2019)
• In re Air Crash over the Southern Indian Ocean (Nov. 21, 2018)
• Government of Guam v. United States (Oct. 5, 2018)
• Otay Mesa Property v. Department of Interior (Sept. 25, 2018)
• United States v. Young (Sept. 13, 2018)
• American Federation of Government Employees v. Trump (Aug. 25, 2018)
• Alliance of Artists & Recording Companies v. General Motors Co. (March 23, 2018)
• Pierce v. District of Columbia (Sept. 11, 2015)
• Sierra Club v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Aug. 18, 2014)
• Z Street, Inc. v. Koskinen (May 27, 2014)
• American Meat Institute v. Department of Agriculture (Sept. 11, 2013)

Writings & speeches

Here is a collection of Jackson’s published articles and speeches that are available online (though some are behind a paywall). For a full list of her writings and speeches (many of which are not available on the internet), see pages 8-40 of her 2021 Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire.

Articles

• Judging A Book: Jackson Reviews “When Should Law Forgive?” ($) (Law 360, Sept. 24, 2019)
• Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5: The U.S. Courts of Appeals Apply Different Legal Tests for Assessing the Primary Liability of Secondary Actors (Securities Litigation, Enforcement, and White Collar Criminal Defense Newsletter, Spring 2009)
• Prevention versus Punishment: Toward a Principled Distinction in the Restraint of Released Sex Offenders ($) (Harvard Law Review, May 1996)
• Recent case, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) — Scope of Liability After Reves v. Ernst & Young ($) (Harvard Law Review, April 1995)

Speeches, panels, & other public appearances

• Conversation with Justice Stephen Breyer and other former Breyer clerks (National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, November 2020)
• The Oresteia mock trial (Shakespeare Theatre Company, June 24, 2019)
• “Hamilton: The Man, the Musical, and the Law” (National Constitution Center, Nov. 19, 2018)
• “Reflections on My Journey as a Mother and a Judge” (University of Georgia School of Law’s 35th Edith House Lecture, March 2, 2017)
• Twelfth Night mock trial (Shakespeare Theatre Company, Dec. 11, 2017)
• “Looking Forward: Criminal Justice Policy and Reform” (moderator) (George Washington Law Review Symposium, Feb. 21, 2018)
• Justice Stephen Breyer in conversation with Alan Morrison (introductory speaker) (American Constitution Society, June 8, 2017)
• Romeo and Juliet mock trial (Shakespeare Theatre Company, Dec. 12, 2016)
• “A Conversation on Judging – Then and Now” (Historical Society of the District of Columbia Circuit, Feb. 25, 2015)
• “An Insider Look at the United States Sentencing Commission” (Administrative Office of the Courts, Dec. 3, 2014)
• “State of the Sentencing Guidelines” (Health Care Compliance Association, April 2012)
• “New Frontiers in Race and Criminal Justice” (NYU Law’s Center on the Administration of Criminal Law, April 17, 2012)

Interviews

• “Eight current Overseers share their unique stories (Harvard Gazette, June 16, 2020)
• “Ketanji Brown Jackson: A decisive force applying rules to any and all” (NBC News, Jan. 31, 2019)

Prior nomination materials

• Responses to Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire for 2021 nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
• Responses to Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire for 2012 nomination to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia