‘I’m overwhelmed’: Legal community says Judge Jackson’s confirmation breaks barriers

CHARLOTTE — Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a 51-year-old Black appeal court judge, was confirmed this week with a 53-47 vote and will replace Justice Stephen Breyer, who retires this summer.

“A mentor said we serve people the way we see them,” Little said.

[ALSO READ: Cheers for Jackson, who declares, ‘We’ve made it, all of us’]

Little is the daughter of Liberian immigrants and said Jackson’s appointment reflects the barriers that have been broken.

Gastonia defense attorney Regina Taylor also said those barriers have been shattered.

“Oh my God, it’s exciting,” Taylor said. “I’m overwhelmed.”

Taylor said Jackson’s confirmation is powerful.

“It confirms what I have always known,” Taylor said. “That we are qualified as Black women.”

Taylor said she’ll never forget seeing the Supreme Court in action when she was in law school and beamed when she saw Judge Thurgood Marshal become the first Black justice.

She said this generation will experience something similar with Jackson becoming a new Supreme Court justice.

Jackson’s confirmation means the Supreme Court will have four women on the bench and for the first time in the nation’s history, white men will be in the minority.

UNC Charlotte professor says Jackson’s confirmation as Supreme Court judge is profound

UNC Charlotte professor says Jackson’s confirmation as Supreme Court judge is profound

Jackson will have a profound impact on cases that involve race and gender, a UNC Charlotte professor told Channel 9 after Thursday’s confirmation.

[ALSO READ: Jackson confirmed as first Black female high court justice]

The balance of the court will remain the same, where conservative judges hold a 6-3 majority.

However, the historical aspect of Jackson’s confirmation can’t be overstated.

“So certainly for women of color, to see somebody like that in a position where they never saw anybody who looked like them before, that might lead more women to seek out and particularly women of color, to seek out legal careers, said John Szmer, who focuses on the judicial process and roles of race and gender UNC Charlotte.

Congresswoman Alma Adams released a statement that read, in part:

“Not only will she be the first Black woman in our nation’s history to serve as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, she will also be a role model to women and girls everywhere. Her presence on the bench will be another reminder that women from every background belong everywhere decisions are being made.”

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