U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson critiqued the court’s handling of a major redistricting case, saying the court must be “really, really careful” not to appear political as midterm elections approach.
Jackson, speaking to lawyers in Washington, D.C., on Monday, was referring in part to the massive blow against the Voting Rights Act in April, which has led Republicans in southern states scrambling to redraw maps ahead of November’s elections.
The ruling has started the largest rollback of Black political representation since the end of Reconstruction and the imposition of Jim Crow in the South. A third of the membership of the Congressional Black Caucus is at risk of losing their seats. Jackson took particular issue with the Supreme Court’s move to immediately release its decision instead of waiting for the typical 32-day period. Jackson was the only justice to object to the change.
In her remarks Monday, hosted by the American Law Institute, Jackson warned the court must remain “apolitical.”
“Courts are apolitical, not supposed to be issuing rulings that are in the political realm,” Jackson said. “We have to be scrupulous about sticking to the principles and the rules that we apply in every case and not look as though we’re doing something different in this kind of context.”
Jackson claimed it would have been more “neutral” to stick with the 32-day ruling, saying, “My view was it would be a more neutral way to handle the matter to just stick with the rule that we always apply in situations like this.”
The justice emphasized that the court's legitimacy depends on its perceived impartiality, especially during election season. She noted that the rushed decision could undermine public trust in the judiciary, which is already under strain from partisan divisions. Jackson's comments reflect a broader concern among legal experts about the court's increasing entanglement in political controversies.
