NLADA launches #Defender4SCOTUS Campaign to Urge the Senate to Confirm Judge Brown Jackson for SCOTUS

NLADA launches #Defender4SCOTUS Campaign to Urge the Senate to Confirm Judge Brown Jackson for SCOTUS

WASHINGTON – The National Legal Aid and Defender Association today launched the #Defender4SCOTUS Campaign in an effort to urge the U.S. Senate to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court. If confirmed, Judge Brown Jackson will be the first Black woman and public defender to ever serve on the Supreme Court of the United States.

“Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination was long overdue,” said NLADA President April Frazier Camara. “The vast majority of people entering the criminal legal system have experienced poverty, a judge with a public defense background will be able to understand fully the vulnerabilities of those who will appear before the highest court in the United States.”

The National Legal Aid & Defender Association is comprised of more than 20,000 public defenders, civil legal aid attorneys and clients. Judge Jackson’s background as a public defender is significant in large part because of the Supreme Court’s key role in reviewing the fairness of lower court decisions, which overwhelmingly impacts the communities that NLADA represents.

In addition, the Black Public Defender Association, a section of NLADA, has teamed up with Demand Justice to support the historic nomination. In February 2022, BPDA co-led a sign-on letter, composed op-eds, co-sponsored two virtual programs and engaged in other strategic communications to amplify the need for a Black public defender on the Supreme Court. 

American Council of Chief Defenders “ACCD” issued a statement last week in support of Judge Brown Jackson’s nomination. ACCD Chair Stan German wrote, “As a former public defender, Judge Jackson had a front-row seat to the disparate harms afflicted on low-income communities of color. It is striking that this legal experience has been absent from the high court since its inception in 1789.”

To learn more about the campaign or to speak with representatives from NLADA or BPDA please email Rabiah A. Burks, [email protected].

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The National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA), founded in 1911, is America’s oldest and largest nonprofit association devoted to excellence in the delivery of legal services to those who cannot afford counsel. NLADA has pioneered access to justice at the national, state and local levels, playing a leadership role in the creation of public defender systems and other important institutions from The Sentencing Project to the Legal Services Corporation. A leader in the development of national standards for civil legal aid and public defense, NLADA also provides advocacy, training and technical assistance for equal justice advocates across the country.