On June 30, 2022, Ketanji Brown Jackson officially made history as the first Black woman U.S. Supreme Court Justice during her swearing-in ceremony. Justice Brown Jackson’s judicial oath will allow her to sit on the country’s highest court just a week after SCOTUS overturned Roe v. Wade.
Justice KBJ was sworn in with two bibles – her family Bible and a 1906 King James version of the Bible known as the Harlan Bible – by her husband, Dr. Patrick Jackson, who looked lovingly and proudly upon her as she swore her oath.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., administered the Constitutional Oath in the West Conference Room of the Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. “On behalf of all the members of the court, I’m pleased to welcome Justice Jackson to the court and to our common calling,” said Chief Roberts.
Additionally, the court will still be conservatively leaning by a split of 6-3 since Justice Brown Jackson will be replacing liberal-winged Justice Stephen G. Breyer who is now retired. She was once his law clerk during her early years as a lawyer in 1999 to 2000.
Of Justice Breyer, Brown Jackson shares that he “has been a personal friend and mentor of mine for the past two decades, in addition to being part of today’s official act. In the wake of his exemplary service, with the support of my family and friends, and ever mindful of the duty to promote the Rule of Law, I am well-positioned to serve the American people.”
This will also be the first time in U.S. history that four women will sit on the Supreme Court at the same time.
