Supreme Court Justice John Roberts, in a brief ceremony at the Supreme Court, took the constitutional oath to Jackson, and retired Judge Stephen Breyer, to whom Jackson was a clerk about 20 years ago, took the oath. Her husband, Dr. Patrick Jackson, was holding two Bibles – a Family Bible and the Harlan Bible, a King James Bible donated to the Supreme Court in 1906 – as Jackson smiled broadly and intently. “On behalf of all members of the court, I am pleased to welcome Judge Jackson to court and to our joint call,” Roberts said as the other seven judges present applauded as Jackson shone. Supreme Judge John G. Roberts, Jr., takes the constitutional oath to Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in the Western Conference Hall, Supreme Court Building, Washington, DC, June 30, 2022. Dr. Patrick Jackson holds the Bible. Fred Schilling, Collection of the United States Supreme Court Breyer shook her hand and whispered “Congratulations” before stroking her back. “I wholeheartedly accept the formal responsibility to support and defend the United States Constitution and to administer justice without fear or favor, so help me, my God,” Jackson said in a written statement. “I am truly grateful to be part of the promise of our great Nation.” She thanked her new colleagues “for their warm and polite welcome” and said she was “very grateful for the time and attention given to me by the Prime Minister and Judge Breyer”. “Justice Breyer has been my personal friend and mentor for the past two decades, in addition to being part of today’s official practice,” she wrote. “After his exemplary service, with the support of my family and friends, and always aware of my duty to promote the rule of law, I am in a good position to serve the American people.” Breyer, in his statement, said he was “happy today” – for “Ketanji”, “for my fellow judges” and “for America”. “Her hard work, integrity and intelligence have earned her a place in this Court,” he said. “They have a colleague who is compassionate, thoughtful and collective … Ketanji will interpret the law wisely and fairly, helping this law work better for the American people he serves.” Judge Stephen G. Breyer (Retired) and Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson stand in the courtroom at the Supreme Court building in Washington, DC, on June 30, 2022. Fred Schilling, Collection of the United States Supreme Court Roberts said at the ceremony that she would pay an official visit in the fall, but the oaths on Thursday would allow Jackson to take up her duties, “and she was looking forward to arriving there without further delay.” “It took 232 years and 115 previous appointments, but we did it,” Jackson told the White House after she was confirmed in the Senate. “And our children tell me that they see now, more than ever, that here in America, anything is possible,” he said. Supreme Judge John G. Roberts, Jr., watches as Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson signs his oaths in the courtroom at the Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC, June 30, 2022. Fred Schilling, Collection of the United States Supreme Court Her entry into the stadium also makes it the first time four women will sit on the Supreme Court bench at the same time. President Joe Biden announced in January that Breyer would retire at the end of his 27-year term in office, fulfilling the wishes of progressives waiting to begin, and begin what would become a month-long process to name Jackson another 42 days. for its confirmation. Three Republicans eventually joined the Senate Democrats to confirm it, signaling a major political victory for Biden’s long-term legacy – and his short-term efforts to activate the Democrats. Biden said when examining the candidates that he was looking for someone with Breyer’s judicial philosophy and “a realistic view that the law should work for the American people.” And with Jackson nominated, he kept a key promise from the 2020 election campaign, ahead of the crucial South Carolina primary, that he would nominate the first black woman on the court. “It will let so much sun shine on so many young women, so many young black women,” Biden said in April, along with Jackson and Vice President Kamala Harris, the nation’s first black woman and first black vice president. “We will look back and see this as a moment of real change in American history.” Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks with President Joe Biden after her nomination as a Deputy Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court in the White House, Washington, on February 25, 2022. Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images, FILE Jackson, 51, born in Washington DC, is leaving the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, which is considered the most important federal court next to the Supreme Court. She has more than eight years of experience on the federal bench, following a path in the judiciary that many candidates have traveled before. Like other judges, she is a graduate of Harvard Law School, but marks her place in history in many ways, as well as being the first former public defender and the first Florida-educated judge to sit on the Supreme Court. She will also be the first judge after Thurgood Marshall to have criminal defense experience. Asked what her message would be to young Americans during her affirmations in the Senate, she reminded the Senate Justice Committee that she felt inappropriate at Harvard in her first semester – when a stranger gave her a remarkable resilience lesson. “I was walking in the yard at night and a black woman I did not know was walking me on the sidewalk, and she looked at me, and I guess she knew how I was feeling. . Ketanji Brown Jackson, Deputy Chief Justice of U.S. Supreme Court nominee for President Joe Biden, speaks during a confirmation hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, March 23, 2022. Bloomberg via Getty Images She has also spoken with emotion about her descent from slaves and her parents who grew up in Jim Crow South. “In my family, it only took a generation to go from separation to the United States Supreme Court,” Jackson told the White House after her confirmation. “And it is an honor, an honor of a lifetime, for me to have this opportunity to participate in the court, to promote the rule of law at the highest level and to do my part to carry out our common plan of democracy and equal justice in accordance with the law to move forward in the future “. At the brief but historic swearing-in were both her daughters, Talia, 21, and Leila, 17. ABC News senior Washington reporter Devin Dwyer contributed to this report.
