Ketanji Brown Jackson was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Joe Biden Friday, Feb. 25. 

Jackson is intended to replace former Justice Stephen Breyer who announced on Jan. 26 that he will retire at the end of the current term. If confirmed, Jackson will be the first black woman to sit on the Supreme Court.

Jackson is an attorney and jurist who is currently serving as a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. She attended Harvard University for College and Law school, graduating with an A.B. magna cum laude in 1992 and a Juris Doctor cum laude in 1996. She started her legal career with three legal clerkships, including one with Justice Breyer. 

From 2013 to 2021, Jackson served as a district judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. On June 14, 2021, she was confirmed to serve at her current position on the U.S. Court of Appeals of the D.C. circuit. 

Dirk Deam, a teaching professor of political science at Iowa State University, said he has followed her court opinions and she has an esteemed record in law.

“She is eminently qualified by every standard I know,” Deam said. “I don’t get into the personality columns and stuff like that. I’m only interested in whether she’s a qualified jurist, and she is.”

Deam said when it comes to how Jackson will make decisions compared to Breyer, people can only speculate. He said a good nominee should be someone with excellent credentials as a judge who bases their opinions on the law. He said all of that is true for both Jackson and Breyer.

“I think where we get into trouble is when people look for supreme court justices to pursue an agenda, and I think that’s horrible that we do that,” Deam said. “I don’t really compare those two along those lines. I don’t think either one of them really has an agenda other than being a jurist.”

During a debate in February 2020, Biden promised to put a black woman on the Supreme Court.

“I’m looking forward to making sure there’s a Black woman on the Supreme Court to make sure we in fact get everyone represented,” Biden said.

The nomination has not been without criticisms.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson took issue with Biden’s initial announcement that his nomination for the Supreme Court would be a black woman. 

“Our new Supreme Court Justice will not be chosen on the basis of legal acumen, intelligence, wise judgment or fealty to the Constitution of the United States,” Carlson said on his show in January. “In this country, equity trumps competence. What matters – Joe Biden explains – is sex and skin color.”

When Jackson was announced as the nomination, Carlson asked what one would do if they wanted to humiliate and degrade the country they lead and undermine its institutions.

“Well you might take the single-most important appointed position in the entire government and announce in public that you are filling that position based on appearance,” Carlson said.

Carlson then questioned Jackson’s qualifications and asked to see her LSAT scores while repeatedly mispronouncing her first name.

“So it might be time for Joe Biden to let us know what Ketanji Brown Jackson’s LSAT score was,” Carlson said. “Why wouldn’t you tell us that? That would settle the question conclusively as to whether she’s a once in a generation legal talent.”

Carlson made no such requests for any of the other Supreme Court nominees during his time on Fox News. 

Deam said that his less cynical interpretation of Biden’s decision to nominate a Black woman is that there have not been many Black jurors in the court system and the Supreme Court especially. Deam said typically a variety of perspectives is good for the court.

“It’s a notable lack of both women and Black people,” Deam said. “But the other thing is she’s just really a very qualified candidate. It’s not affirmative action or something, she’s just very qualified.”