WATCH: Markey delivers remarks on Senate floor today in support of Judge Jackson 

Washington (April 5, 2022) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) delivered remarks on the U.S. Senate floor today in strong support of the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to fill the seat of retiring Justice Stephen Breyer on the United States Supreme Court.  When confirmed, Judge Jackson would become the first Black female justice to serve on the nation’s highest court, and the first-ever public defender. Senator Markeymet with Judge Jackson on March 24.

In his remarks today, Senator Markey referred to the historic nomination of Judge Jackson as a “long overdue step toward making the Supreme Court better reflect the nation whose people the Court serves.”

In his remarks, Senator Markey specifically highlighted Judge Jackson’s previous position as a public defender. “As a federal public defender, Judge Jackson represented the most vulnerable among us. She represented the clients other lawyers avoided. In doing so, she followed a long and honorable tradition in the American legal profession that began with John Adams stepping forward in 1770 to represent the British soldiers who committed the Boston Massacre because he feared they would not receive a fair trial without adequate representation.”

Senator Markey additionally derided his Republican colleagues on their hostile, partisan questioning during the Judiciary Committee hearings. “As we all saw, some of the questioning of Judge Jackson from some of my Republican colleagues was nothing short of offensive, distorting her record, and tinged with racism and sexism. But Judge Jackson responded with poise. She calmly addressed and corrected her questioners’ false and misleading premises. And she did so while demonstrating deep knowledge of the law and the Constitution, respect for precedent, and displaying precisely the kind of temperament we expect of someone sitting on the nation’s highest court.” 

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