Only African American Woman to D.C.'s U.S. District Court Confirmed

WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today called Ketanji Brown Jackson to congratulate her on her confirmation by the Senate to become a U.S. district court judge in the District of Columbia. Jackson, who is currently Vice Chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, now becomes the first African American woman appointed to the district court in D.C. in 32 years, and only the second to ever serve. Norton recommended her to President Obama.

"I am pleased that the U.S. district court here will have the benefit of Ketanji Brown Jackson's stellar background and experience," said Norton. "As a bonus, she will not only be the only African American woman on the court, but probably the youngest."

Jackson, a graduate of Harvard-Radcliffe College and Harvard Law School, where she served as editor and supervising editor of the law review, clerked for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. After her clerkship, she worked for law firms in Boston and D.C. and in the Office of the Public Defender for the District of Columbia, representing indigent clients on their appeals in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In 2010, the President appointed her to serve on the Sentencing Commission and the Senate confirmed her.

President Obama, like President Clinton, granted Norton senatorial courtesy to recommend candidates for federal district court judges and other important federal law enforcement officials in the District. The Congresswoman recommended Jackson from a number of candidates screened by her 17-person Federal Law Enforcement Nominating Commission, chaired by Pauline Schneider, a former chair of the D.C. Bar and a partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.

Published: March 26, 2013