Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson adopts distinct judicial approach

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is adopting a distinct approach that has increasingly isolated her from both conservative and liberal colleagues. Entering her fifth term, Jackson has challenged internal court norms by utilizing disproportionate time during oral arguments and reframing how the justices interpret the Constitution through a historical lens.

Jackson has been vocal in her critiques of the court's conservative majority. In recent legal controversies, such as those involving mail-in ballots and the blocking of National Institutes of Health research grants, she has used sharp language to challenge the integrity of the majority's rulings. Her approach has occasionally left her standing alone, as even fellow liberal justices have declined to sign onto her most intense opinions.