Friend —

In an historic, bipartisan vote of 53-47, the Senate confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. This is a huge victory!

This moment proves just how consequential our elections are. Two years ago, President Biden vowed on the campaign trail to nominate the first Black woman to the nation's highest Court. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation — as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court in its 233-year history — is a long-overdue step towards a court that reflects the people it serves.

The stakes for our communities' clean air and clean water, and for all people and communities to have an equal say in our democracy and be treated with justice before the law, have never been higher.

Our environmental laws are only as strong as the judges who enforce them. Now, we have a fair-minded, extraordinarily qualified jurist who will uphold the promise of equal justice under law headed to the Supreme Court.

Judge Jackson's record shows she understands the government's authority and obligation to protect the public and will hold everyone, including corporate polluters and special interests, to the same high standards of the law.

This is an essential step forward as communities of color bear disproportionate burdens of toxic air, water pollution, and climate impacts.

In this moment when the stakes for the air we breathe, the water we drink, the climate crisis, and our democracy are higher than ever, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson can be trusted to uphold the promise of equal justice under law.

We applaud her confirmation and are grateful to have her voice and perspective on the court in the years to come.



However, our work to create a diverse judiciary that reflects our country cannot end with her. There are currently over 100 vacancies on the lower federal courts, and the judges who fill those seats will also play defining roles in future cases that shape our democracy and environment for decades to come.

We will continue to advocate for President Biden and senators to appoint more highly qualified, personally and professionally diverse judges.

Thank you for being a part of the movement to make this victory a reality.

Onward,

Gene Karpinski
President
League of Conservation Voters