CNN
—
The Supreme Court, a place bound by tradition and formality, will hold one of its most scripted rituals on Friday for a justice whose appointment broke the mold of history.
The investiture ceremony for Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman on the bench, will be marked by pomp from the ages, including the use of Chief Justice John Marshall’s historic bench chair and commission language that dates to the first justice, John Jay, appointed by President George Washington.
“Know ye,” the presidential commission, as read by Clerk of Court Scott Harris, will begin, “that reposing special trust and confidence in the wisdom, uprightness, and learning of Ketanji Brown Jackson … in testimony whereof, I have caused these letters to be made patent and the seal of the Department of Justice to be hereunto affixed.”
President Joe Biden, who selected Jackson, will attend the Friday morning ceremony, a White House official told CNN. It is customary before the event for the president to chat privately with the justices in a conference room and to sign the court’s oversized guest book.
The official told CNN that Vice President Kamala Harris, first lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Doug Emhoff will also be at the investiture.
No cameras are allowed inside the courtroom, and photographers usually wait outside for the new justice to emerge from the ceremony and take the traditional walk down the 36 marble steps at the front of the columned building. Per custom, Jackson will be accompanied by Chief Justice John Roberts.
In the court’s 233-year history, no African American woman has participated in this rite and gone on to decide the law of the land. Of the total 116 justices over time, all but eight have been White men. Jackson is the sixth woman on the bench; three of the others are still serving: Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett.
The symbolic moment comes as Biden, who vowed during his 2020 campaign to appoint the first Black woman justice, continues to emphasize diversity in his judicial picks. He has nominated 143 federal judges, 68% of whom are women and 66% people of color. He has nominated 13 Black women as circuit court judges, with seven confirmed so far.
Jackson, 52, who previously sat on US district and appellate courts, took her…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CNN.com – RSS Channel – HP Hero…