Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson discusses Supreme Court journey at Kansas City Q&A

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson made a trip to Missouri this week, where she spoke to attorneys about her time serving in the federal judiciary.

The event, held at the Charles E. Whittaker Courthouse in downtown Kansas City Wednesday, was moderated by Chief Magistrate Judge Willie J. Epps Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, featuring a pre-determined question and answer session. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas attended the event.

Jackson, nominated in February 2022 by President Joe Biden, was sworn into the Supreme Court the same year. She is the first Black woman and first former federal public defender to serve on the court.

“If you had asked me 10 years ago that this would be my story, I wouldn’t have been able to imagine it,” she said. “It took 233 years and 115 prior appointments for a Black woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court … I think the significance of this is a marker of progress.”

The questions centered around her career on the federal bench, what it meant to her to make history by being appointed to the court, balancing work and personal life, and advice she had for other attorneys.

Jackson was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in Miami. She attended both undergraduate and law school at Harvard University. She clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer, whose seat she would eventually go on to assume. After law school, she also clerked for a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

She worked in private practice for a few years in the early 2000s and also served as an assistant public defender for the federal appeals court in Washington D.C. She was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 2013 by former President Barack Obama. In 2021, she was appointed by Biden to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Jackson said her time in district court was “extraordinarily useful for me in helping me avoid thinking I know everything all the time” and spoke highly of her time as a federal public defender.

She initially was interested in becoming a public defender after seeing a family member go through the criminal justice system.

“My job as a defender was extraordinary … other than what I do right now it was my favorite job. I learned so much about the justice system, the criminal justice system in general,” Jackson said. “I think the most significant thing I was able to take to the bench was interacting with real people. Understanding how our justice system influences lives is something that has been crucial for me in my judging.”

She also spoke on one of her role models, Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman to argue in front of the Supreme Court and first Black woman federal judge. Both Jackson and Baker Motley share a birthday, and Jackson said that Motley was a “north star” for her in her younger years as an aspiring judge.

“She was a genius, yet she never had the chance to serve on the Supreme Court,” Jackson said.

She also spoke on her “new reality” of serving on the Supreme Court and the challenges that come with it. She credited her husband, surgeon Patrick Jackson, for stepping up to help with their family when she’s busy and said that it was important to always “be who you are.” Her family was in attendance.

“My life is completely different versus five years ago,” she said. “It’s so important to be who you are and maintain that no matter what happens in your life.”

Part of the way she maintains that is through her opinions. She said that it is important to her that her opinions reflect her “style.” She has four law clerks who assist in her office.

She also gave advice on what she looks for in law clerks: strong writing and oral communication skills.

“Writing is so much of what we do. My advice for young lawyers is as much as you can just practice writing … All those skills are crucial for litigation,” Jackson said. “For me personally, oral communication is really important … So someone who can synthesize information quickly and take the main points and really engage with them is really, really important.

“And someone who is nice and gets along with everybody,” she added. “It’s a very small, tight-knit group.”

In her closing words, she gave encouragement to members of the law profession to “stay the course” during a challenging time.

“As difficult as it is, it is such a position of privilege to be able to serve this country. It is not easy … I know the challenges that many of you will have to deal with or are dealing with right now,” she said. “So I encourage you to stay the course because your work is so important and we are protecting the rule of law … It is in times like this when the Constitution is being challenged that your work is more important than ever.”