Nation’s Service-Employment-Redevelopment Network Calls the Senate 53-47 Confirmation A Moment When America Can Re-Commit to Justice for All
SER Jobs for Progress National, Inc. issued the following statement on the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. On Thursday, Judge Jackson became the first black woman confirmed to the highest court. As significant was that Vice-President Kamala Harris presided over the confirmation vote as the first black woman elected to the second-highest office in the United States.
Ignacio Salazar, SER National’s President & Chief Executive Officer
“Since our founding as a nation, America has always risen to define its greater self even through the most challenging times of political turmoil, economic upheaval, or social unrest. We have been able to prevail because most Americans believe in the set of principles in our Constitution that afford us equal rights and, with those, similar responsibilities. These values extend into every facet of our lives, including education, employment, economic advancement, and the application of justice.
On the latter, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson faced tough questioning during her Senate confirmation hearings about how she would apply the law given, inferring whether her experiences as a black woman born to parents involved in the civil rights movement might bias her judgment. She faced the pointed interrogatories with steadfast dignity and unwavering conviction of her principles. Judge Jackson replied that she would conduct herself and arrive at her conclusions ‘without fear or favor’ as evidenced by her more than 600 decisions during her judicial career.
A deeper analysis of Judge Jackson’s legal qualifications demonstrates an exemplary record with fewer than two percent of her decisions overruled, an extraordinarily low reversal rate. Moreover, as measured by rulings that withstood challenges, Judge Jackson’s performance on the federal bench surpasses that of more than half of her peers across the United States. Also, her career experience as a jurist is greater than that of four other current Justices on the Supreme Court combined when they were nominated.
All of this affirms the decision of the Senate majority, including three Republicans, and the more than 53% of Americans surveyed in a Gallup Poll. Confirming Judge Jackson to the Supreme Court represents our nation’s journey in the right direction towards ensuring that one day soon, liberty and justice for all, will be a guarantee, not simply a pledge recited since 1892 and formally adopted by the U.S. Congress in 1942. SER NATIONAL salutes Judge Jackson on her historical confirmation. We may all look forward to a greater America because of her voice and viewpoints within the chambers of the highest court in our land.”