Jackson's Confirmation Would Put Her in a Unique Position: Justice-in-Waiting

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will suddenly find herself with a lot of time on her hands if the Senate fulfills expectations and confirms her to the U.S. Supreme Court this week.

The busiest six weeks of Jackson’s life are likely to turn into a three-month wait once she wins approval to occupy a Supreme Court seat that won’t open until late June or early July. Justice Stephen Breyer said in January he will retire when the court’s current term ends.

It will be an unprecedented position, created by the timing of Breyer’s retirement announcement coupled with Democrats’ decision to put her confirmation on a relatively fast track. Jackson, 51, now serves on a federal appeals court in Washington, though she has put her work there on hold since her Feb. 25 nomination.

Previous justices have typically had only a few days after winning confirmation to start working on the nation’s highest court.

“We really are in uncharted territory here,” said Marin Levy, a Duke University Law School professor who specializes in judicial administration and studies Supreme Court history.