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By Rachana N. Fischer, Senior Advisor-Litigation at Elanco Animal Health
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson visited Indianapolis on July 10th as the featured guest of a sold-out luncheon hosted by the Indianapolis Bar Association at the Indiana Convention Center. The event marked the first time a sitting Supreme Court Justice has headlined an Indianapolis Bar Association event, and the legal community showed up in full force to welcome her.
The Hon. Doris L. Pryor of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit introduced both Justice Jackson and the Hon. Jane Magnus-Stinson of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, who moderated the conversation. The discussion touched on topics spanning Justice Jackson’s personal and professional journey.
An Emphasis on Education
Justice Jackson began the afternoon with reflections on her childhood. She was born in 1970, several years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Her parents, who had grown up in the segregated South, made sure that Justice Jackson maximized her educational opportunities and instilled in her a belief that she could do anything that she wanted. Justice Jackson credits high school speech and debate with helping her overcome a fear of public speaking and teaching her to write speeches, both of which skills paved the way for her career as a litigator and a jurist.
It was a speech and debate contest in twelfth grade that first took Justice Jackson to Harvard. She went on to complete her undergraduate and law degrees there, writing in her application that she dreamed of being the first Black woman Supreme Court Justice to appear on a Broadway stage (which she went on to achieve). Although she was homesick at first, she recalled an incident when she was feeling particularly demoralized and a Black woman she didn’t know walked up to her and whispered, “Persevere. Persevere.”
Early Legal Inspiration
Justice Jackson cited Judge Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman appointed to the federal bench, as one of her primary inspirations. She also pointed to Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, as a trailblazer who made her realize that she could be on the Supreme Court one day.
After graduating from law school, Justice Jackson served as a district court law clerk, a circuit court law clerk, and a Supreme Court law clerk, clerking for Justice Stephen Breyer. She emphasized the importance of clerking because it teaches litigators to see cases from a judge’s perspective. She also highlighted the lifelong mentor-mentee relationship that judges and law clerks share.
Inside the Supreme Court
Justice Jackson noted the unique perspective she brings as the only public defender to serve as a Supreme Court Justice. When she became a judge, her experience working with criminal defendants taught her the importance of ensuring that parties understood the judicial process. As a Supreme Court Justice, her experience also helps her see the personal stories behind the cases that come before her. Justice Jackson said that the most surprising aspect of the Supreme Court was the formality, which extends to the interactions that take place behind closed doors.
Balancing Work and Family
Justice Jackson described meeting her husband of 28 years, Patrick, when they were both undergraduates at Harvard. Because both had demanding careers (her husband is a surgeon), they agreed to take turns. Her husband took a year off from his prestigious residency to support Justice Jackson when she was clerking for the Supreme Court. Later, Justice Jackson worked at a law firm to support her growing family while her husband completed his residency. She said that they both were able to make it as far as they did because they throttled back and forth to support each other.
Years later, her daughter Leila wrote President Barack Obama when she was 11 years old and asked him to appoint her mom to the Supreme Court. Justice Jackson laughed that she was glad to have her daughter’s endorsement and was proud that she was raising a young woman who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind.
A Warm Reception
The event concluded with a standing ovation from the more than 1,000 people in attendance. Each guest received a copy of Justice Jackson’s memoir, Lovely One.
The luncheon was organized by the Indianapolis Bar Association and co-sponsored by the Indianapolis Bar Foundation, the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Indiana, the Marion County Bar Association, the Hispanic Lawyers Division (IndyBar), and the Lambda Committee (IndyBar).•
Rachana N. Fischer is an attorney at law, currently working as the Senior Advisor for Litigation at Elanco Animal Health. She serves as President of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Indiana and on the Board of Directors of the Indianapolis Bar Association.
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