U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson lauded the role of dissenting opinions in front of a Fairbanks audience Tuesday. A liberal justice, Jackson has become known for writing scathing dissents since 2022, when she joined the court, which has a 6-3 conservative supermajority.
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“It is extraordinary that we have a system that allows for people who disagree, even at the highest levels, to explain their disagreement, to tell everyone how they think the case should’ve come out, and to essentially lay down a marker for future generations in the hopes that, at some point in time, people will agree with their view,” she said.
Jackson, the first Black woman to sit on the nation’s highest court, stopped in Interior Alaska as part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Summer Sessions and Lifelong Learning program. Using court-vetted questions, retired public radio journalist Robert Hannon hosted the on-stage talk at the Davis Concert Hall at the UAF Fine Arts Complex.
The Biden-appointee also reiterated her recent public criticism of the court’s increasing use of its emergency docket to issue orders on big cases. She said the practice lacks transparency and can warp the work of lower courts as they continue to consider the cases on their merits.
“In total, I think it is a net negative for the court to be evaluating issues on the emergency docket,” she said. “And I think we should do so very rarely.”
The 1996 Harvard Law graduate also took a question about how her history as a federal public defender informs her jurisprudence, saying that experience mostly influenced how she went about her job when she was a trial court judge. She said being a public defender showed her how often criminal defendants felt confused, slighted or disrespected by the legal process.
“And it was impeding their ability to reform,” she said.
Jackson said, later, as a U.S. District Court judge, she wrote out what she wanted to say and explain to defendants in a script. She served as U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Columbia from 2013 to 2021.
“Because when and if I sent them to jail, I wanted them to know that it’s not because I was mad or because I was doing something to them,” she said. “It’s because of their behavior, because of what they had done.”
In a brief interview after the event, Alaska Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Carney, also a former public defender, said she seconded Jackson’s thoughts on how the legal system can alienate defendants.
“Courts are designed to be scary, and we really need to make sure that the people who are appearing in front of us understand what’s going on,” she said.
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Carney also said she thinks Jackson’s personal journey, like setting sights on a judicial appointment as early as grade school, could resonate with Alaskans.
“Dream big,” Carney said. “We really are part of America. We can do the same things they can do Outside here. We can probably do them better, because we’re in Alaska. But, you know, those big themes are true for all of us.”
“I’m always inspired when I have an opportunity to see an African American female of prominence,” said retired UAF Patty Center Facilities Manager Tyrone Burkhead.
Burkhead said he came because he closely follows Jackson’s opinions and that he wants to see her outlast some of the other justices.
“She understands what civil rights is all about. It seems like, at this particular time in society, our Supreme Court is kind of looking the opposite direction and favoring extreme conservative ideology,” he said.
Jackson’s visit was highly anticipated and filled the 900-seat concert hall. Its conclusion drew loud applause, but the end also came abruptly and without a clear reason, which UAF Summer Sessions Director Michelle Bartlett said “has never happened before.
Bartlett approached the stage, saying court staff told her Jackson needed to attend to something.
Bartlett addressed the audience afterward.
“I have no idea what it is, and to all of you who came out, stood in line, whatever you did to make it in here tonight, I am ever so grateful, and I apologize,” she said. “But didn’t we have a glorious time?”
Applause followed. A Supreme Court spokesperson didn’t respond to emailed questions seeking more information about why Jackson had to leave abruptly.
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