WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� , the first Black woman on the Supreme Court and its newest justice, said before the term began that she was 鈥渞eady to work.鈥� She made that clear during arguments in the opening cases.
The tally: 4,568 words spoken over nearly six hours this past week, about 50% more than any of the eight other justices, according to Adam Feldman, the creator of the Empirical SCOTUS blog.
The justices as a whole are generally a talkative bunch, questioning lawyers in rapid succession. For now, Jackson's approach seems less like Justice Clarence Thomas, , and more like Justice Neil Gorsuch, .
On Tuesday, , which sought to , Jackson was particularly vocal.
At one point, she spoke uninterrupted for more than three and a half minutes to lay out her understanding of the history of the post-Civil War 14th Amendment to the Constitution guaranteeing formerly enslaved people equal rights. Jackson's statement ran three , the longest Feldman could remember ever seeing.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 think of a time where you鈥檝e seen a junior justice take hold of the arguments鈥� to the same extent, Feldman said using the court鈥檚 shorthand title for the newest justice.
A jurist with a liberal record, Jackson joined a court where conservatives hold a 6-3 advantage, so in many of the most most contentious cases her vote likely does not matter to the outcome. But her performance during arguments seemed to show she intends to make herself heard.
鈥淚 have a seat at the table now and I鈥檓 ready to work,鈥� she said last week following her .
In three of the four cases the court heard this past week, she was the most active speaker among the justices.
Feldman said new justices usually sit back and take things in but 鈥減oke their heads up occasionally鈥� to ask a question. 鈥淭his was a different approach," he said.
. The justices were about five minutes into their questioning in what turned out to be in a dispute over the nation鈥檚 main anti-water pollution law when Jackson asked her first question; she was the fourth justice to do so.
By the end of arguments, she had probed the meaning of the word 鈥渁djacent," asked whether a marsh in a 1985 case was 鈥渧isually indistinguishable from the abutting creek" and prefaced another question by saying: "Let me try to bring some enlightenment to it by asking it this way."
Jackson was but did not until the court began its summer recess in June, giving her months to study cases the court had granted. Other justices spent some of that time finalizing opinions in cases that included decisions and .
Speaking at the , days before Jackson was confirmed, Justice Amy Coney Barrett noted 鈥渇ortunately there will be some lead time鈥� for the new justice to ease into her role. Barrett, in contrast, a week after she . Justice Brett Kavanaugh was and the following Tuesday.
Justices themselves have acknowledged it takes time to get used to sitting on the highest court in the land. Justice Elena Kagan once compared starting the job to 鈥� 鈥� with a learning curve that 鈥渋s extremely steep, sometimes it seems vertical.鈥� Some justices have said it takes five years to feel really comfortable in the role.
In her Library of Congress appearance, Jackson talked about the attention on her as the first Black woman to be a justice. People approach her with 鈥渨hat I can only describe as a profound sense of pride and what feels to me like renewed ownership," she said.
Their message to her is 鈥渋n essence, 鈥榊ou go, girl,鈥濃�� Jackson said. 鈥淭hey're saying 鈥業nvisible no more. We see you and we are with you.鈥欌��
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Jessica Gresko, The Associated Press
