On February 25, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to become an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court following Justice Stephen Breyer’s announcement of his retirement, according to the White House. If confirmed, Jackson will mark a historical moment in American history as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, according to Smithsonian Magazine. 

Jackson has extensive experience, as she was a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the Vice Chair of the U.S. Sentencing commission, and Supreme Court clerk for Justice Breyer. She also served as a public defender, which would also make her the first former federal public defender to serve on the Supreme Court if confirmed, according to the White House. 

With multiple police officers in her family and broad experience with public service, Jackson has a unique, but vital understanding of the fairness of the justice system and issues of criminal justice reform, according to the White House. As said by the White House, “Judge Jackson is one of our nation’s brightest legal minds and has an unusual breadth of experience in our legal system, giving her the perspective to be an exceptional Justice.”