As soon as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was permitted to speak in public under Supreme Court tradition, he delivered a 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. A bombing that killed four young black girls as they arrived for Sunday morning services.
“I was once a little black girl,” Justice Jackson said in an interview Tuesday. “And I felt really strongly that I had to be a part of that event and use whatever platform I had to bring attention to it and to the court.”
This week, Justice Jackson is speaking again with the release 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 eventually to the Supreme Court. . She began writing a memoir, for which she received a $3 million book deal, shortly after joining the Supreme Court two years ago.
“Before starting this new chapter of my life I wanted to take a moment, I wanted to look back,” she said in an interview. Sitting at the end of a conference table in a Random House office, its publisher, Judge, in cat-eye glasses and a teal blazer, describes the process of publishing a book as “being fired from a cannon.”
Justice Jackson was less forthcoming about the current court, where she and the justices came under historical scrutiny. A leaked draft The decision to abrogate the constitutional right to abortion. Revelations about the failure of some judges – Especially Justice Clarence Thomas – Disclosure of lavish gifts and travel from wealthy benefactors intensified attention.
What seemed to be justice Find her feet Immediately on the bench, papering lawyers with questions and writing sharp dissents, she was careful to address the current pressures facing the court.
Court following revelations about Justice Thomas and others Code of Ethics announced 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 debates about whether to strengthen the ethics code “are ongoing.”
She added that she was not authorized to disclose any proposals under consideration, including whether the judges were considering them. An idea recently floated by Justice Elena Kagan For a panel of experienced judges who can review allegations of wrongdoing.
Justice Jackson did not directly address her views on public engagement in the Supreme Court’s general approval, other than to say that she views public outreach to the Court’s work and mission as part of her duties.
“We have an obligation as judges, to educate, to educate, to help people understand what the law does, what the courts do, and so I like to talk to students and people, and I see that. Even as part of my role,” she said.
Shortly before the interview, her publicist outlined the parameters of the interview, noting that Justice Jackson “may not discuss past or current Supreme Court cases, the upcoming presidential election, or any other political or election-related matter.”
Justice Jackson was nevertheless warm and kind. Her husband, Dr. Patrick Jackson, a fellow Harvard classmate and surgeon with whom she has two daughters, welcomed a reporter along with two publicists and several others.
Her memoir focuses on the couple’s struggles and joys in raising the girls. She described juggling her demanding career, napping in a Safeway parking lot while pregnant with her second daughter, and her frustration with finding a supportive school for one of her daughters, who has mild autism spectrum disorder.
In about a month, the Supreme Court will begin its next term, which has about cases Medical care for transgender youth, Ghost guns And a challenge to the Texas law that wants to Limit minors’ access to pornography on the Internet. Justice Jackson and his colleagues will do their work as the presidential election — and any litigation surrounding it — looms.
But, on Tuesday, Justice Jackson took to Harlem’s famed Apollo Theater to tell his story to a sold-out crowd.
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