A biography for Ketanji Brown Jacksonhasn’t been written yet.
“As a sitting federal judge, I am bound by the Supreme Court's current First Amendment caselaw, and I would apply the binding case law of the Supreme Court and the D.C. Circuit if I am assigned to any First Amendment case in which such precedents are applicable.”
“The underlying premise of the Brown decision - i.e. that 'separate but equal is inherently unequal' - is beyond dispute and judges can express their agreement with that principle without calling into question their ability to apply the law faithfully to cases raising similar issues.”
“I've sentenced over 100 people, and supervised release, which is the kind of post-incarceration condition that judges ordinarily impose, is something that is done on a standard form.”
“It takes a village to raise a judge.”
“A circuit judge might properly encourage the Supreme Court to reconsider holdings that are confusing or otherwise problematic in application, by pointing out a problem with the interpretation or application of a precedent, in either a concurrence or a dissent.”
“It can sometimes take raw courage to remain steadfast in doing what the law requires.”
“I've experienced life in perhaps a different way than some of my colleagues because of who I am and that might be valuable - I hope it would be valuable if I was confirmed to the circuit court.”
“I thought the law was fascinating and consequential. And as much as I loved the arts, I always really wanted to do work that I thought would have a direct impact on society.”
“I know what it's like to have loved ones who go off to protect and to serve, and the fear of not knowing whether or not they're going to come home again because of crime in the community.”
“My mother and father were united in their determination to start me out in a program that they believed would nurture me culturally, foster my sense of curiosity and put me on the right path academically.”
“I have spent years toiling away in the relative solitude of my chambers, with just my law clerks, in isolation.”
“A dissent is the opportunity for the justices to express their differing views with respect to what the majority has done.”
“I'm a human being and I have an opinion on a lot of things.”
“One of the things I loved about Harvard was finding a sizable Black community that really made me feel like I had found my people and could exhale, could relax, could be me and not have to always be representing in the environments I was in.”
“The young people are the future and I want them to know that they can do and be anything.”
“Judges can't make law; judges shouldn't be policy makers.”
“I've always been the kind of person who just feels like 'Okay, well, people think I can't do this. I'll show them.'”
“My father, in particular, bears responsibility for my interest in the law. When I was 4, we moved back to Miami so that he could be a full-time law student. And we lived on the campus of the University of Miami Law School.”
“Justice Breyer, in particular, not only gave me the greatest job that any young lawyer could ever hope to have, but he also exemplifies what it means to be a Supreme Court Justice of the highest level of skill and integrity, civility and grace.”
“Justice Breyer's commitment to an independent, impartial judiciary is unflagging. And, for him, the rule of law is not merely a duty, it is his passion.”