5 Things To Know About Ketanji Brown Jackson, The Supreme Court Justice Nominee

As a student at Miami Palmetto Senior High School, Jackson proved that she had a bright future. The Florida student, who was named to the graduation class Hall of Fame in high school, expressed her passion for law when she was only a teenager.

“I want to go into law and eventually have a judicial appointment,” she said in her 1988 yearbook, according to the Miami Herald. 

Jackson, who grew up in Miami and was born in Washington D.C., built a strong résumé in high school while traveling to various parts of the country to compete in debate events. She was also elected “mayor” of Palmetto Junior High and student body president of her high school, according to the White House. 

Jackson continued to excel when she graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University. She also attended Harvard Law School, where she graduated cum laude and served as editor of the Harvard Law Review.

The Miami native grew up with her mother, who worked as a high school principal, and her father, who worked as a history teacher before becoming the chief lawyer for the Miami-Dade County School Board. Jackson's parents, Johnny and Ellery Brown, studied at historically Black colleges and universities after attending segregated primary schools. 

Reflecting on her childhood memories, Jackson said she remembers focusing on her preschool homework while her father was reading his law books. 

Jackson currently serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, 11 Alive reports. She took the position after being confirmed by a 53-44 vote, which included support from three Republicans. Jackson also received bipartisan support in 2013 after former President Barack Obama nominated her to be a district court judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

A few years prior, Obama nominated the judge to serve as the vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Jackson took the position in 2010 with bipartisan support. 

While working on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, Jackson focused on reducing unwarranted sentencing disparities and ensuring that federal sentences were just. 

As a public defender, Jackson represented defendants who were unable to pay for a lawyer. She also strengthened her understanding of the Supreme Court while serving as Breyer’s law clerk. 

Jackson met her husband, Patrick Jackson, at Harvard. The couple have two daughters, Leila and Talia. While Leila is now attending high school, Talia is continuing her education in college.

Leila was 11 years old when she wrote a letter to Obama, recommending her mom for the Supreme Court vacancy created by the 2016 death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

“Dear Mr. President," Leila wrote. “She's determined, honest and never breaks a promise to anyone even if there are other things she'd rather do. She can demonstrate commitment and is loyal and never brags. I think she would make a great Supreme Court justice.”

Patrick, who works as a surgeon, often talks about medicine on his Twitter account. The surgeon also uses social media to express his love for his wife. 

“Happy Loving Day!" he wrote on the anniversary of the Supreme Court's Loving v. Virginia decision, the law that struck down interracial marriage bans. "I am especially thankful to be walking through life with a brilliant and compassionate partner who still takes my breath away, made possible by sacrifices like Richard and Mildred Loving.”

The couple married in 1996. 

During special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, Jackson ordered former White House counsel Don McGahn to appear before Congress, spoiling former President Donald Trump’s effort to keep his top aides from testifying.

The judge also oversaw “pizzagate,” the conspiracy theory that sparked rumors about prominent Democrats harboring child sex slaves at a Washington pizza restaurant. Jackson sentenced one North Carolina man to prison after he bought into the rumor and showed up at the restaurant with an AR-15 assault rifle.