Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson It Is, After a Bipartisan Vote in the Senate

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will soon be known as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and take up residence in chambers at One First Street, Washington, the home of the United States Supreme Court. That prospect was assured by a vote this afternoon in the Senate that saw three Republicans — Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitt Romney — join all 50 Democrats to vote “yea” on Judge Jackson to succeed Justice Stephen Breyer. While the 53 to 47 vote in the Senate will deliver Judge Jackson to the high court’s bench, once there she will likely reinforce the ideological status quo. On a court split six to three between right- and left-leaning jurists, Justice Jackson’s presence appears unlikely to shift the balance of power. The spotlight on her, though, has crowded out the tectonic realignments that have transpired in the far less visible precincts of the federal judiciary, which President Biden has stocked with left-leaning appointees that undoubtedly will become a major part of his legacy. With a Democratic defeat in the November midterm elections widely anticipated (though The New York Sun urges caution on this head), the pressure is on, as Senator Blumenthal has said, to confirm “as many” judges as possible “as soon as possible.” Court watchers frequently pointed to President Trump’s success in crafting a federal judiciary in a conservative image. The numbers, though, show that Mr. Biden has adopted a similar approach. Even as the ideological currents of the Supreme Court remain undisturbed — for now — shifts at lower levels are set to tilt the legal landscape in the years ahead. According to the Pew Research Center, Mr. Trump appointed 226 federal judges in his four years in office. However, 54 of those judges are riders on appellate courts, giving them outsize influence. That latter total, accrued in one term, is just one fewer than President Obama managed in two terms. Of the 13 appellate circuits, the balance of power shifted toward Republicans on three of them during the Trump years, including on the Second Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals headquartered at Manhattan. All of this is in addition to the three Trump nominees — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett — whom the Senate confirmed to the high court. Mr. Trump told the journalist Robert Woodward that these appointments were the equivalent of “golden nuggets.”Mr. Biden has also been panning for judicial gold. According to the Brookings Institution, he placed 42 federal judges on the bench in his first year, the most of any president since Ronald Reagan in 1981. With the confirmation of Judge Jackson, the number of confirmed judges now stands at 59, putting him ahead of Mr. Trump’s pace. The newest justice will soon hear a range of cases that touch on such constitutional matters as affirmative action, abortion, and freedom of speech and religion. However, a judiciary that is rapidly filling up with Democratic appointees is likely to play a significant role in shaping the law for decades to come.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson It Is, After a Bipartisan Vote in the Senate

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