Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman SHAVONDA E. SUMTER
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblywoman ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
Assemblyman RAJ MUKHERJI
District 33 (Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Karabinchak, Benson, Assemblywoman Jasey, Assemblymen Verrelli, Wimberly, Sampson and Assemblywoman Quijano
SYNOPSIS
Commemorates appointment of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as Associate Justice of United States Supreme Court.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Assembly Resolution commemorating the appointment of United States Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Whereas, On April 7, 2022, the United States Senate voted, on a bipartisan basis, to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first black woman United States Supreme Court justice; and
Whereas, The confirmation of Judge Jackson’s appointment is a historic occasion for the United States and for the institution of the Supreme Court which, for the first time in its 233 year history, and appointment of 116 justices, will have its first black woman Associate Justice; and
Whereas, Judge Jackson’s nomination for the position of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by President Joseph R. Biden was prompted by the announcement of Justice Stephen Breyer, for whom Judge Jackson clerked, that he would retire at the close of the current Supreme Court term; and
Whereas, Judge Jackson’s distinguished judicial career began with her work as a jurist, which commenced with her nomination by President Barack Obama, and confirmation and appointment by a bipartisan Senate in 2013 to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia; and
Whereas, Judge Jackson observed, in a notable 2019 opinion granting a Department of Justice administrative stay request, that “Presidents are not kings;” and
Whereas, Judge Jackson went on to be confirmed with bipartisan support to the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 2021; and
Whereas, Prior to, and continuing for a portion of her judicial career, Judge Jackson also served as a Vice Chair and Commissioner on the United States Sentencing Commission beginning in 2010 and continuing until 2014 where, as a Commissioner, Judge Jackson voted, among other noteworthy actions, to apply retroactively the provision of the 2010 Fair Sentencing Act, which addressed the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine crimes; and
Whereas, Judge Jackson’s numerous other accomplishments include her academic success at Harvard University, from which she was graduated magna cum laude, and at Harvard Law School, from which she was graduated cum laude, and her service as a public defender, making her the first federal public defender to serve on the Supreme Court; and
Whereas, Following her confirmation on April 7, 2022, Judge Jackson will be sworn in following the retirement of Justice Breyer at the end of the current Supreme Court term; now, therefore
Be It
Resolved by the General Assembly of the State
of New Jersey:
1. This house commemorates the appointment of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the Governor, to each member of New Jersey's congressional delegation, to the Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, and the President and Secretary of the United States Senate.
STATEMENT
This resolution commemorates the appointment of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, the first black woman appointed to that position. The confirmation of Judge Jackson’s appointment is a historic occasion for the United States and for the institution of the Supreme Court. Judge Jackson’s distinguished career includes her work on the bench as well as at the bar, including her appointment to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and to the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and her work as a federal public defender. In addition, Judge Jackson served as a Vice Chairperson and Commissioner on the United States Sentencing Commission.