There's a reason Ketanji Brown Jackson is the 1st public defender appointed to SCOTUS
![Ketanji Brown Jackson.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zivC5PizEhPBwykBAJ5DN4-415-80.jpg)
The thing that makes Ketanji Brown Jackson such an excellent nominee to the Supreme Court is also the thing that makes her ripe for attacks from Republicans: She once served as a public defender — the very first one ever appointed to the court.
She was effective. Earlier this month, The Washington Post reviewed her record and concluded that as a defense attorney, "she won uncommon victories against the government that shortened or erased lengthy prison terms." Among her clients: Khi Ali Ghul, a detainee at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
That might be very unpopular, but let's be clear: Jackson's experience as a public defender is a good thing. The Constitution guarantees felony criminal defendants the right to legal counsel, and the system doesn't work at all if people accused of crimes can't find a lawyer. Without defense attorneys (and particularly without public defenders), our justice system would be a series of show trials. A criminal charge would be tantamount to a conviction. So it would be good for the court to have a member — just one! — who has day-to-day experience and knowledge of what the law looks like when the government is marshaling its resources against you.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But public defenders have a hard time getting promoted to judgeships. Before Biden became president, roughly 1 percent of federal appellate judges had previously done the kind of work Jackson has done.
Why? Well, Republicans love to beat up on judicial nominees with a history of representing criminal defendants. Just this month, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) attacked Nina Morrison, an appellate judge nominee who spent much of her career working for the Innocence Project, a nonprofit organization that uses DNA testing to try to reverse wrongful convictions. "Across this country, Americans are horrified at skyrocketing crime rates, at skyrocketing homicide rates, at skyrocketing burglary rates, at skyrocketing carjacking rates," Cruz sneered at Morrison. "All of those are the direct result of the policies you've spent your entire lifetime advancing."
This sort of thing has been happening for years. It's easy to see why. Crime is always unpopular. Defense attorneys make easy targets for GOP politicians trying to strengthen their "tough on crime" bona fides. Does it matter that they undermine the Constitutional system by incentivizing smart, ambitious lawyers to stay away from a criminal defense practice? Or that innocent people might go to prison without effective representation? Apparently not.
So Jackson's nomination isn't just a good way to expand the Supreme Court's perspectives — it's also a necessary way of pushing back against the notion that it's somehow less legitimate to serve the system as a defense attorney. And no surprise: It probably means there will be fireworks at her confirmation hearing.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.
-
Why is China stockpiling resources?
The Explainer The superpower has been amassing huge reserves of commodities at great cost despite its economic downturn
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Paraguay's dangerous dalliance with cryptocurrency
Under The Radar Overheating Paraguayans are pushing back over power outages caused by illegal miners
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The Week contest: Tattoo prediction
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
ICJ ruling: will 'damning verdict' stop Netanyahu?
Talking Point The UN's top court has ruled Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories breaks international law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
How Biden's enablers may have delayed his bowing out
Talking Points Joe Biden's inner circle faces calls for a reckoning for allegedly shielding the president — and the public — from questions of aging and electoral viability
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
The Democrats 'resigned to a second Trump presidency'
Talking Points Did the assassination attempt end Biden's election chances?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Venezuela election: first vote in a decade offers hope to poverty-stricken nation
The Explainer Nicolás Maduro agreed to 'free and fair' vote but poor polling and threat of prosecution pushes disputed leader to desperate methods
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Are down-ticket Democrats doomed?
Talking Points President Joe Biden's refusal to step back from his reelection campaign has some local Democrats wondering if their own races are in trouble — but not everyone is worried
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Fascism feasts on violence'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published