During the Supreme Court’s term that concluded last month, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson authored the fewest majority opinions—just five. Nevertheless, her voice was heard in an exceptionally high number of opinions—more than 20 in all—both in agreement and disagreement.
A number of them expressed concern that the court was adopting illegal short cuts, tilting the judicial balance in favor of President Trump, and endangering American democracy. On the last day of the term, the majority ruling in the well-known case involving birthright citizenship was released, which she saw as an existential threat to the rule of law.
Just finished her third term, Justice Jackson, 54, is the newest member of the court. Justice Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the court, immediately became a vocal opponent of her conservative colleagues and, more recently, their approach to the Trump agenda. Other justices have stated that it took them years to establish themselves.
The right has mockingly criticized her views, which are occasionally shared by no other court, and questioned her ties with her colleagues justices, particularly the other two members of its liberal wing.
Melissa Murray, a law professor at New York University, stated that she is speaking outside of the courtroom and breaking the fourth wall. She is worried about what the court is doing and is expressing it in a different voice, one that is more focused on the court’s public image than on the impression of collegiality.
In the case involving Mr. Trump’s attempt to outlaw birthright citizenship, Justice Amy Coney Barrett delivered an unusual censure as a result of her occasionally biting criticisms that appeared to try her colleagues’ patience. The majority in that judgment severely curtailed district court judges’ ability to halt presidential decrees, even if they are obviously unlawful.
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