Justice sought
After three justices were appointed in President Trump’s term, President Biden is seeking a confirmation to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer.
Lengthy process
Ketanji Brown Jackson was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Biden on Feb. 25, and her confirmation vote might not come until April.
Days from nomination to Senate confirmation by justice (in order of most recent to longest served)
Amy Coney Barrett: 27
Brett Kavanaugh: 88
Neil Gorsuch: 65
Elena Kagan: 87
Sonia Sotomayer: 66
Samuel Alito: 82
John Roberts: 23
Steven Breyer: 73
Clarence Thomas: 99
Scale of ideals
The Berkeley Law School at the University of California measures the relative location of U.S. Supreme Court justices on an ideological continuum through time using a system titled the Martin-Quinn measurements. The following scales show how the court stood in recent years.
Education
Chief Justice John G. Roberts – Harvard (J.D.)
Justice Clarence Thomas – Yale (J.D.)
Justice Stephen G. Breyer – Harvard (LL.B)
Justice Samuel A. Alito – Yale (J.D.)
Justice Sonia Sotomayor – Yale (J.D.)
Justice Elena Kagan – Harvard (J.D.)
Justice Neil M. Gorsuch – Harvard (J.D.)
Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh – Yale (J.D.)
Justice Amy Coney Barrett – Notre Dame (J.D.)
Nominee:
Ketanji Brown Jackson – Harvard (J.D.)
Black women justices
Historically, nearly all Supreme Court justices have been White, non-Hispanic men. If confirmed, Jackson would become just the sixth woman ever to serve on the court. Jackson would be the first Black woman on the court. And she would be the fourth justice who is not White, the others being current Justices Sotomayor and Clarence Thomas (who are Hispanic and Black, respectively) and former Justice Thurgood Marshall (who was Black).
Only 70 of the 3,843 people who have ever served as federal judges in the United States – fewer than 2% – have been Black women, a January analysis found.
Sources: The U.S. Supreme Court; The U.S. Senate; Insidegov.com, University of California Berkeley Law School, The Associated Press, Landmark Cases