GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — Monday, Ketanji Brown Jackson will begin her confirmation hearings with an opening statement.
Judge Jackson was picked by President Biden to fill Justice Stephen Breyer's seat on the Supreme Court, as he retires this summer.
If confirmed, Jackson would become the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. She is currently a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Tracey Brame, the associate dean of experiential learning at the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, has mixed emotions heading into the hearing. She thinks Jackson will be "fantastic" if confirmed, but is nervous about the hearing proceedings.
"I am so pleased that President Biden has followed through on his promise to try to diversify the courts," said Brame.
Brame, like Judge Jackson, is a former public defender. It's this experience that she believes gives Jackson a unique viewpoint to the court.
"Historically, you see a lot of judges come from the prosecutorial ranks or from the civil side," said Brame, "For public defenders, at heart, we represent the most vulnerable people in society. And of course, the prosecution is representing the victims and trying to achieve justice and trying to fight crime. And that's all very important. But as public defenders, we recognize that often our clients and their families, in ways, are victims or are overcharged, over sentenced, or innocent."
As for how Jackson will influence the court, Brame said it is too soon to tell.
"We're so polarized right now," said Brame, "And the Supreme Court right now has been in the past as well, but we're just at a particularly political point. There is a notion that she probably won't change the philosophical tenor of the court much because of whom she's replacing. She's basically replacing someone of the same judicial bend."
When Brame started practicing law in 1995, she said many of the judges were older white men. While she said it was nothing against those men, that was just who was in power. Now, she hopes Jackson's nomination will inspire a diverse range of people to pursue law.
"When you walk into the Supreme Court, hopefully, once she's confirmed, there will be this picture of this Black woman," said Brame, "Which I think will have reverberations for generations to come."
However, she made it clear the nomination of Jackson was "not only of diversity for its own sake." She was proud Biden had many Black female judges to choose from.
"She has the qualifications that a diversity of experience brings," said Brame, "But she also has the bona fides that we've hung our hat on for so long, right? She's an Ivy League educated woman with all of this experience that she's had at the federal level and on federal commissions. And, she just incredibly qualified."
RELATED VIDEO: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks on Supreme Court nomination
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