Fair or Flawed? The Divided Narrative on Supreme Court Nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson

The political left and right are at odds over whether Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson will pursue nonpartisan justice or left-wing priorities if she's confirmed to the court.

Jackson, 51, was nominated last month by President Joe Biden, and would be the first black woman to serve on the Supreme Court if confirmed. Some prominent Republicans appear open to supporting Jackson's nomination, while others are adamantly opposed. Key moderate Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) reportedly had a "positive" meeting with Jackson last week. She needs majority support in the evenly-divided Senate to be confirmed. Her Senate hearings are scheduled to begin March 21.

Left-rated voices often focus on the historical significance of Jackson's nomination and how she could reshape the court and American law if confirmed. Opinions on Jackson from right-rated voices tend to frame her as a leftist whose opinions will reflect radical progressivism, and highlight her rulings in favor of labor unions or defenses of Guantanamo Bay detainees. Conversely, one writer for USA TODAY highlighted rulings in which Jackson permitted further construction of Trump's border wall and supported speeding up review of asylum claims, painting her judicial record as more mixed and suggesting that her Supreme Court opinions would be hard to predict. Writing for the New York Times opinion section (Left bias), writer Charles Blow (Lean Left) said that repeated requests from conservatives for Jackson to prove her credentials were racist.