Ketanji Brown Jackson says Harris’s nomination ‘gives a lot of people hope’

(WASHINGTON) — Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said Wednesday that Vice President Kamala Harris’s nomination as the first Black and Asian woman nominee for U.S. president “gives a lot of people hope” that greater equality of opportunity is possible.

“I know a little bit about being a first,” said Jackson, the nation’s first Black woman justice on the high court who was appointed by President Joe Biden in 2022. “I think a lot of people were very happy about my appointment, in part, because they saw it as progress for the country.”

“Whenever we see someone moving into a position where no one has ever been, it gives a lot of people hope,” she said during an appearance on ABC’s “The View.”

The comments were Jackson’s first public acknowledgement on the historic Democratic ticket — Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

“I’m a first, not because I’m the first person who could ever do this job, right? But because our times have changed. Our society has changed,” she said.

Jackson, 53, has been on a media blitz in conjunction with the release of her memoir “Lovely One,” which recounts personal stories from her childhood, education, family life and early career before arriving at the nation’s highest court.

Jackson has been careful to avoid speaking publicly on politics or policy issues, stressing her need to preserve the appearance of impartiality.

Asked whether she is confident the courts would uphold the will of voters if results of the 2024 election are challenged, she said: “I am confident that the courts will faithfully uphold the law, because that is our duty.”

Jackson also weighed in on the Supreme Court’s new, non-binding ethics code, saying she supports public debate over enforcement mechanisms and possible changes to the court’s structure.

“The question is, [how] is that going to play out? We’re still pretty early in the process,” she said, “but I guess I think about all of this as democracy at work, public engagement, these ideas of reforms, are the kinds of things that have been around since the beginning of our Republic.”