Like the Justices serving in the United States Supreme Court, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson graduated from an Ivy League law school, she has worked in both the public sector and in private practice before President Barack Obama nominated her to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. However, besides Justice Thurgood Marshall, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, when confirmed, will be the only Supreme Court Justice with a background in criminal law.
While hearings to confirm Judge Brown Jackson are ongoing, her supporters stand outside the United States Supreme Court to protect her bid against those criticizing her work as a criminal defense attorney. Her nomination is indeed historic, and her appointment will be transformative. During Tuesday’s questioning, Senator Patrick Healy from Vermont highlighted her qualifications, temperament, and the different vantage point she will have as a former federal public defender.
Senator Healy, a former prosecutor, stated that one valuable lesson he learned is that “for our criminal justice system to function properly you have to have skilled dedicated lawyers on both sides.”[1] When prosecutors investigate crimes, they have access to numerous resources including but not limited to the assistance of law enforcement agencies such as the FBI, DEA, Homeland Security, or the AFT to name a few. Law enforcement agencies investigate crimes through wiretaps, surveillance, and online review techniques—Judge Brown Jackson’s experience representing poor defendants in federal court, in Senator Healy’s opinion, is an asset rather than a liability as some of her critics characterize her work with criminal defendants.
In fact, in the landmark case Gideon v. Wainwright, the court noted that criminal defense attorneys are “necessities, not luxuries.”[2] This means that it doesn’t matter where you come from or what crime you committed, the Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel affords every person accused of a crime the right to counsel, and it entitles all defendants to fair proceedings.
Supreme Court decisions affect the lives of Americans for decades, and with Judge Jackson’s likely appointment, her work will continue to be instrumental to the advocacy for fair and unbiased treatment of defendants in criminal cases.
What does this mean to you? If you have been charged with a crime, it is essential to hire an attorney with the necessary skills to fight the charges against you. Remember that the government will use all the resources at its disposal to seek a steep prison sentence against you. Start by giving us a call at (424) 371-5930 to schedule a free evaluation of your case.
[1] Source PBS News Hour, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzqAq8UBQPc.
[2] Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, 344 (1963).
