The Supreme Court is losing its legitimacy among the American people

Ishaan Nandwani, Opinions Editor

On April 7, the United States Senate confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on a 53-47 vote.

Jackson will become the first Black woman in history to attain this honor.

I couldn’t help but feel emotional as I watched Jackson’s reaction to her confirmation, looking on from a screen as Vice President Kamala Harris announced the vote. I’m beyond excited for the unprecedented perspective she will bring to the court and the hope she will bring to countless children across the country, who will now dream a little bigger and work a little harder.

As Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) emotionally said to Jackson during her confirmation hearings, “the greatest country in the world, the United States of America, will be better because of you.”

Jackson is more than qualified to sit on the Supreme Court. A graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Law School, she has served as a public defender, clerked on the Supreme Court and judged on the District Court and Court of Appeals. She has proved her intelligence and conviction throughout her hearings over the past few weeks, handling difficult — and often disrespectful — questions with dignity and ease.

Despite her outstanding qualifications, nearly all Republican Senators voted against her appointment. Only three decided to go against the grain and support her confirmation: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

The partisan and political nature of this nomination is extremely dangerous.

“I hope we can get back to a time where we have bipartisan support for qualified Supreme Court nominees because it’s important for public confidence in the court. The court is not supposed to be a politicized institution, and if the nomination process leading up to confirmation is overly political, I believe that undermines the public’s confidence in our court,” Collins said.

As Collins expressed, the court is an impartial body intended to interpret the rule of law without political pressure — that’s why justices are given lifelong tenure. Today, bipartisan support for a Supreme Court Justice is rare. In the case of Jackson, only three senators took a stand. This is not nearly enough to make a difference in the public eye in showcasing true bipartisan support.

In the case of Trump-nominated Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, votes were split down party lines at 50-48 and 52-48, respectively. One Democratic senator supported Kavanaugh, and all Democratic senators opposed Barrett.

However, prior to the division that took root in our country, it was common for Supreme Court nominees to have strong bipartisan support. Justice Antonin Scalia was confirmed 98-0 in 1986, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was confirmed 96-3 in 1993 and Justice Stephen Breyer was confirmed 87-9 in 1994. Evidently, support for these appointments wasn’t always so divided on party lines.

As an American citizen, I can speak for many in our country when I say my trust in the Court has significantly diminished. Back when Justice Coney Barrett was nominated in 2020, former President Donald Trump made it clear that he would only nominate justices that would tear down the Affordable Care Act. All Democratic senators opposed her nomination, with many citing concerns about this specific act.

In the case of Jackson, nearly all Republican senators voting against her made it clear that her sentencing decisions, rather than qualifications or ability to interpret the law, drove them to oppose her nomination. Because they didn’t agree with her, they chose not to support her.

The Supreme Court has become increasingly politicized throughout the years, and Jackson’s nomination process has illuminated this. I sincerely hope that we can return to a time in which qualified nominees are evaluated in an impartial way.

I’m truly inspired that a Black woman as qualified as Ketanji Brown Jackson will sit on the Supreme Court, despite her appointment being subject to political smears. We must celebrate this moment for what it is, and continue to advocate for a court that is independent and not political.