As soon as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was permitted to speak out publicly under Supreme Court tradition, she delivered the keynote address from the pulpit of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. It was September 2023, the 60th anniversary of the Ku Klux Klan bombing that killed four young Black girls as they arrived for Sunday morning services.
“I was a little Black girl at one point,” Justice Jackson said in an interview on Tuesday. “And I just really felt very strongly that I should be a part of that event and use whatever platform I have to bring attention to it and to the court.”
This week, Justice Jackson is speaking out again with the publication of her new book, “Lovely One,” which traces her childhood from Miami to Harvard — where she performed as a scene partner in drama class with Matt Damon — and ultimately to the Supreme Court. She began writing the memoir, for which she received a $3 million book deal, almost immediately after joining the Supreme Court two years ago.
“I wanted to take a moment before launching into that journey, this new chapter of my life, I wanted to look back,” she said in an interview. Seated at the far end of a conference table in the offices of Random House, her publisher, the justice, in cat-eye glasses and a teal blazer, described the process of publishing the book as “being shot out of a cannon.”
Justice Jackson was far less forthcoming about the current court, where she and the justices have come under historic scrutiny after the leaked draft of its decision to overturn the constitutional right to abortion. Revelations about the failure of some of the justices — most notably Justice Clarence Thomas — to disclose luxury gifts and travel from wealthy benefactors only intensified the attention.
For a justice who seemed to find her footing on the bench immediately, peppering lawyers with questions and writing sharp dissents, she was circumspect in addressing the existing pressures facing the court.
After the revelations about Justice Thomas and others, the court announced an ethics code last fall, the first in its history. But Justice Jackson would say only that it was a “very interesting moment to be on the court,” acknowledging that discussions about whether to strengthen the ethics code were “ongoing.”
She added that she did not have permission to disclose any proposals under consideration, including whether the justices were considering an idea recently floated by Justice Elena Kagan for a panel of experienced judges who could review allegations of wrongdoing.
Justice Jackson did not directly address her views on the Supreme Court’s plunge in general approval with the public, other than to say that she views public outreach of the court’s work and mission as part of her duties.
“It is incumbent upon us as justices, to educate, to educate, to help people understand what it is that we do what the law does, what the court does, and so I like talking to students and people, and I see that very much as a part of my role as well,” she said.
Shortly before the interview, her publicist outlined the parameters of the interview, noting that Justice Jackson “will not be able to discuss past or present Supreme Court cases, the upcoming presidential election or any other political or electoral matters.”
Justice Jackson was nonetheless warm and gracious. Her husband, Dr. Patrick Jackson, a fellow Harvard classmate and surgeon with whom she has two daughters, greeted a reporter, along with two publicists and a few others.
Her memoir focuses on the couple’s struggles, and joys, in raising the girls. She described juggling their demanding careers, sneaking naps in a Safeway parking lot while pregnant with her second daughter, and their frustrations to find a supportive school for one of their daughters who has mild autism spectrum disorder.
In about a month, the Supreme Court will begin its next term, with cases about medical care for transgender youth, ghost guns and a challenge to a Texas law that seeks to limit minors’ access to pornography on the internet. Justice Jackson and her colleagues will do their work as the presidential election — and any litigation around it — looms.
But, on Tuesday, Justice Jackson was headed to the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem to tell her story before a sold-out crowd.
The post Justice Jackson Treads Carefully in Talking About the Supreme Court appeared first on New York Times.
