Supreme and Federal Courts

Ketanji Brown Jackson

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson   When Ketanji Brown Jackson raised her right hand in June 2022 and took the constitutional oath, she became the first Black woman in the history of the United States to serve on the Supreme Court. The moment was historic, but it was also the culmination of a career […]

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Clarence Thomas

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas   When Clarence Thomas took his seat on the Supreme Court of the United States in October 1991, he became only the second African American justice in the Court’s history. More than three decades later, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas stands as its longest-serving current member and one of its

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Neil Gorsuch

Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch   When Neil M. Gorsuch took his oath as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in April 2017, he filled a seat left vacant for more than a year following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. The vacancy had become a political flashpoint, but

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Elena Kagan

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan   When Elena Kagan joined the Supreme Court of the United States in August 2010, she did so without prior judicial experience—an increasingly rare path in the modern era. Yet Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan arrived with a résumé that reflected immersion at the highest levels of American legal life:

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Sonia Sotomayor

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor   When Sonia Sotomayor took her seat on the Supreme Court in August 2009, she became the first Latina justice in American history and only the third woman ever appointed to the nation’s highest court. Yet to define Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor solely by biography would be to miss

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Samuel Alito

Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.     When Samuel A. Alito Jr. joined the Supreme Court of the United States in January 2006, he did so as a jurist already shaped by decades in federal service. Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. arrived with a prosecutor’s discipline, an appellate judge’s caution, and

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Brett Kavanaugh

Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh   When Brett M. Kavanaugh took his seat on the Supreme Court in October 2018, he did so amid one of the most contentious confirmation battles in modern American history. Yet beyond the drama that marked his elevation, Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh arrived with a lengthy paper

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