Ketanji Brown Jackson Sworn In to Supreme Court, Gives Oath to Justice John Roberts

Ketanji Brown Jackson Sworn In to Supreme Court, Gives Oath to Justice John Roberts
Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. poses for a portrait with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson in the Justices' Conference Room in Washington on June 30, 2022. (Fred Schilling/Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via Getty Images)

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in on Thursday to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, becoming the 116th justice to serve on the high court.

She took two oaths in the West Conference Room at the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. She gave one oath to the Constitution, which was given by Chief Justice John Roberts, and the other oath was given to Breyer.

“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 issued by the Supreme Court. “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.”

Roberts welcomed Jackson “to the court and our common calling.” The ceremony was streamed live on the court’s website.

Jackson was confirmed in April when the Senate voted 53 to 47 on her nomination. Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Susan Collins (R-Maine) were the three GOP senators to join all Democrats in confirming her.

“I have dedicated my career to public service because I love this country and our Constitution and the rights that make us free,” Jackson said in remarks after the vote earlier this year.

Jackson will be able to begin work immediately, but the court will have just finished the bulk of its work until the fall, apart from emergency appeals that occasionally arise. That will give her time to settle in and familiarize herself with the roughly two dozen cases the court already has agreed to hear starting in October as well as hundreds of appeals that will pile up over the summer.

The Supreme Court issued final opinions earlier Thursday after a momentous term that included overturning Roe v. Wade and expanding the right to carry a concealed firearm outside the home. One of Thursday’s decisions limited how the Environmental Protection Agency can use the nation’s main anti-air pollution law to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.

A day before Jackson’s swearing-in, Breyer, a nominee of former President Bill Clinton, sent a letter to President Joe Biden informing him that his final day is Thursday and said he was honored to be a judge in an “effort to maintain our Constitution and the Rule of Law.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

From The Epoch Times

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