Stephen Breyer, Supreme Court Justice, announced Wednesday that he will officially retire on Thursday after the final two decisions were handed down.
Ketanji brown Jackson, confirmed in April by the Senate, was then sworn into office as the Court’s new justice. Fox
Jackson was sworn in a few minutes after noon, which was when the retirement of her predecessor, Justice Stephen Breyer, became effective. Breyer himself helped lead the ceremony, which took place in the court’s West Conference Room. Breyer administered the judicial oath, and Chief Justice John Roberts administered the constitutional oath, both of which are required for all justices. Jackson’s husband Patrick Jackson and their two daughters were in attendance.
WATCH: Ketanji Brown Jackson becomes the Supreme Court’s first Black female justice. https://t.co/sHdcaCS1Y2 pic.twitter.com/95Oz59jW3z
— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 30, 2022
Justice Jackson earned her undergraduate and law degrees at Harvard University. Justice Breyer, where she clerked for her. Justice Jackson then served for eight years at the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Then she was appointed as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Circuit.
Although she is third Jackson to be on the Supreme Court, Justice Jackson, it is widely known, is the first Black woman on the Court. This also marks the first time the Court has two Black justices, and four women justices, for those keeping tabs on the Court’s demographics (and those who are comfortable defining what a “woman” is).
Justice Jackson expressed her gratitude to Justice Breyer and expressed his confidence in her new position.
Justice Jackson thanked fmr. Justice Breyer vows to protect Americans.
“In the aftermath of his exceptional service, with support from my family, friends and always mindful of the obligation to promote the Rule of Law,” I’m well-positioned for serving the American people. pic.twitter.com/TLD4YKmo1Q
— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 30, 2022
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who attended law school with Justice Jackson, issued a statement on the occasion of Justice Breyer’s retirement and Justice Jackson’s swearing-in:
SEN. CRUZ STATEMENT ON JUSTICE BREYER’S RETIREMENT, JUSTICE JACKSON’S SWEARING IN
“Although we often didn’t agree, Justice Breyer was among the last independently-minded liberal justices on the Court, and I have always appreciated his reasoning in Van Orden v. Perry…” pic.twitter.com/esAlas1NUq
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) June 30, 2022
This changing of the guard at the high court takes on added significance in the shadow (dare I say, “penumbra”?) An extraordinaryly influential Supreme Court term. Senator Cruz’s expressed concerns are understandable. Would that his hope that the jurisprudence of Justice Jackson — and the rest of the Court — “will be illuminated by the spirit of liberty, and bound by the text of the Constitution” be realized.
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