Business and the court
Today, senators will begin hearings on the historic nomination of the federal appellate judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. She is the first Black woman nominated to serve on the court and the only candidate ever to have served as a public defender. Here’s what her nomination might mean for business.
Judge Jackson has a varied résumé. She handled civil and criminal cases, served on the federal sentencing commission, worked in private law firms, clerked for Stephen Breyer (the justice she’d be replacing), attended Harvard and briefly reported for Time magazine. She is facing pushback from some Republicans who say she was overly lenient in some cases, and even those who praise her credentials, like the minority leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, won’t commit to voting for her.
A leading business group is wary. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorsed the three most recent Supreme Court nominees appointed by President Donald Trump. The trade group, which traditionally leans conservative, has in recent years promoted bipartisanship, endorsing some Democratic candidates for office. It hasn’t yet expressed a position about Judge Jackson’s nomination. In an email to DealBook, a Chamber spokeswoman said: “It is clear that Judge Jackson is an accomplished lawyer and a respected jurist. We look forward to learning more about how she would approach serving on our nation’s highest court.” The U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and U.S….
