Ketanji Brown Jackson, who is slated to become the nation’s first Black woman on the Supreme Court when she replaces Justice Stephen Breyer this summer, said Friday of her onetime boss: “I am daunted by the prospect of having to follow in his footsteps.”
Jackson, a former Breyer clerk, singled out the 83-year-old jurist for praise during a White House event celebrating her Senate confirmation the day before, calling her clerkship under Breyer “an extraordinary gift” for which she has become “more grateful with each passing year.”
“Justice Breyer’s commitment to an independent, impartial judiciary is unflagging. And for him, the rule of law is not merely a duty; it is his passion,” she said. “I am daunted by the prospect of having to follow in his footsteps. And I would count myself lucky indeed, to be able to do so with even the smallest amount of his wisdom, grace and joy.”
Breyer plans to retire from the Supreme Court at the conclusion of its current term following 27 years on the bench.
Jackson, who has served on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and as a federal trial court judge in Washington, is expected to take his place on the three-member liberal wing of the 6-3 conservative majority court.
Biden, during remarks on Friday, hailed Breyer as “a man of great integrity.”
“We’re going to miss Justice Breyer. He’s a patriot, an extraordinary public servant and a great justice of the Supreme Court,” Biden said, prompting applause from the audience.
Although Jackson has often heaped praise on Breyer and her other judicial mentors, she has underscored that her approach to judging is uniquely of her own making.
During her confirmation hearing last month, Jackson offered little help to senators in search of the kind of well-worn judicial descriptors that some previous nominees have readily embraced.
“If you had to tell the American people who you’re closest to, who is that justice?” asked Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.).
Jackson replied, “I must admit that I don’t really have a justice that I’ve molded myself after.”