Ketanji Brown Jackson Sworn In As Newest Supreme Court Justice

Washington, DC – Newly-confirmed U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn into the nation’s highest court on Thursday.

Now-retired U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer announced on Wednesday that he would be officially stepping down on June 30, NBC News reported.

A small ceremony was held for Jackson’s swearing in shortly after her predecessor’s retirement became official on Thursday.

“With a full heart, I accept the solemn responsibility of supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States and administering justice without fear or favor, so help me God,” Jackson said in a statement that was released after she was sworn in.

“I am truly grateful to be part of the promise of our great Nation. I extend my sincerest thanks to all of my new colleagues for their warm and gracious welcome,” the newest Supreme Court justice said.

Jackson clerked for Breyer in 1999 and call the retiring judge “a person friend and mentor of mine,” NBC News reported.

President Joe Biden nominated Jackson on Feb. 25, fulfilling his promise to nominate a black woman to fill the U.S. Supreme Court seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Supreme Court Associated Justice Stephen Breyer, NBC News reported.

“For too long our government, our courts, haven’t looked like America,” the President said at a press conference announcing Jackson’s nomination. “I believe it’s time that we have a court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation.”

In her nomination acceptance speech, Jackson was quick to point out that she comes from a family with a strong legacy in law enforcement.

She said that after college, her younger brother served as an undercover police officer and detective in a drug-sting unit in Baltimore Police Department before he left law enforcement to join the U.S. Army, and then he went on to serve two tours in the Middle East.

Then Jackson explained a little more about her family’s background.

“You may have read that I have one uncle who got caught up in drug trade and received a life sentence. That is true,” the nominee said. “But law enforcement also runs in my family. In addition to my brother, I had two uncles who served decades as police officers, one of whom became police chief in my hometown of Miami, Florida.”

Two of Jackson’s uncles were career law enforcement officers in southern Florida, according to the FOP press release endorsing her nomination.

Miami Police Chief Calvin Ross rose up through the ranks of the Miami Police Department and served as top cop in that city in the 1990s, according to the Miami Herald.

Jackson’s other uncle was a sex crimes detective for Miami-Dade County police.

The national organization of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) endorsed Jackson’s nomination and said in a press release that she “has the temperament, intellect, legal experience, and family background to have earned this appointment.”

With such a legacy in law enforcement, the FOP said the Supreme Court nominee “should know quite well the difficulties and dangers our officers face in the line of duty every single day.”

“From our analysis of Judge Jackson’s record and some of her cases, we believe she has considered the facts and applied the law consistently and fairly on a range of issues. There is little doubt that she has the temperament, intellect, legal experience, and family background to have earned this appointment,” the FOP said.

“We are reassured that, should she be confirmed, she would approach her future cases with an open mind and treat issues related to law enforcement fairly and justly,” the press release read.