Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., questioned Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the Senate Judiciary Committee continued its Supreme Court confirmation hearings March 23.
Blumenthal asked Jackson to talk about sharing a birthday with Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman appointed to the federal bench and someone Jackson has often cited as she is considered for a seat on the nation’s highest court. Baker Motley was the first Black woman to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court, racking up 10 wins and zero losses.
“I so admired the fact that she was the first. It’s not necessarily easy to be the first, but it is an opportunity to show other people what is possible. When you’re the first, it means no one has ever done it before like you, and there may be hundreds, thousands of people who might have wanted that opportunity and thought ‘I can’t do that because there’s no one there like me,’” Jackson said. Being a trailblazer, she added, is “inspiring.”
Blumenthal also brought up the 1965 Voting Right Act, which he said was regarded as the “crown jewel of the civil rights movement.” He outlined ways that Supreme Court decisions have dismantled certain parts of that legislation in recent years, adding that he hopes Jackson will bring the “deliberate, careful methodology” she outlined previously in the hearing to the Court.
The Connecticut senator said he hopes she will bring a responsible, methodical approach to the court that will lead to the “avoidance of the shadow docket” — a reference to when Supreme Court decisions are made without hearing oral arguments — and a “return to the Voting Rights Act.”
Wednesday was senators’ final day to question Jackson, who was nominated by President Joe Biden in February to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. If confirmed, she will be the first Black woman on the high court. On the final day of the hearings March 24, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hear from friends and colleagues of Jackson about her temperament and approach to the law.
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