‘We Are So Proud’: FL Leaders Respond To Biden Nominating Judge Jackson To Supreme Court

FLORIDA — The accolades and congratulations are pouring in from South Florida leaders after President Joe Biden announced his nomination of federal appeals court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer on the U.S. Supreme Court.

She would be the current court's second Black justice — Justice Clarence Thomas, a conservative, is the other — and just the third in history, according to the Associated Press.

Jackson, who was born in Washington, D.C., grew up in Miami and attended Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

In a statement, Miami-Dade County Mayor Danielle Levine Cava said she was feeling “great hometown pride” when learning of Jackson’s nomination.

“Her unparalleled experience and inspiring personal narrative will make her a uniquely qualified nominee to serve on the highest court in our nation and to deliver fair and impartial rulings on our county’s most challenging issues,” the mayor said. “We are so proud that Judge Brown Jackson’s roots run deep here in Miami-Dade. A product of our Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Judge Brown Jackson has long been recognized by her peers, her mentors, and the legal community as a jurist of the utmost integrity.”

Democratic State Sen. Lauren Book, who lives in Plantation and represents District 32, tweeted a message to Jackson Friday morning.

“Congratulations to Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on this historic, well-deserved nomination. A former public defender, Obama-era criminal justice policymaker, and expert on sentencing, Judge Jackson has rich experience both in law and life,” Book tweeted. “She is a Justice of the people, by the people, for the people — and I look forward to her confirmation.”

Related Story: AP Source: Biden Taps Ketanji Brown Jackson For High Court

The state’s agricultural commissioner and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried also tweeted about Jackson’s nomination.

“Congratulations to my fellow Miami Palmetto Senior HS alum and former public defender, Judge Kentaji Brown Jackson, on this historic and well-deserved SCOTUS nomination! There is no better choice for this vacancy. I know she will make Florida — and our nation — proud,” Fried wrote.

Rep. Val Demings also congratulated Jackson on her “historic nomination” by tweeting a Bible verse from the Book of Isaiah.

“They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary and they shall walk and not faint,” the U.S. representative tweeted.

Meanwhile, another Democratic candidate in Florida’s governor’s race, U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist tweeted, “Applauding (Biden’s) nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court! It’s past time our nation's top court looks like America. She's a proven leader with a long-qualified history in our justice system — Floridians are proud to have a South Florida native selected!”

Both of Jackson’s parents graduated from historically Black colleges and universities and went on to become educators in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools system, according to a news release from the White House. They started as teachers, moving up to become administrators at the district level.

Her father attended law school while she was in preschool and Jackson traces her love of the law to this time. She often sat next to her father in their apartment while he did his law school homework, the White House said.

Jackson was a “high achiever” as a child, the Biden administration added. Serving as “mayor” of Palmetto Junior High and student body president at Miami Palmetto Senior High School.

She went on to graduate magna cum laude from Harvard University and cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she was editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Jackson, who lives in Washington, D.C., was a public defender early in her career and went on to serve as vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.