Washington — President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, joined by their spouses, attended the investiture ceremony Friday for Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
The ceremony, held in the courtroom before an invitation-only audience, took place before the Supreme Court convenes for the start of its new term Monday. Jackson was nominated to the high court by Mr. Biden to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer and confirmed by the Senate in April.
She was sworn in as the 116th justice at the end of June.
No cameras were allowed inside the ceremony. During the ceremonial investiture, Jackson was expected to be escorted to the well of the courtroom and seated in the same chair used by Chief Justice John Marshall, which has been used for the investiture of every justice since 1972, according to the court.
In addition to Mr. Biden, Harris, first lady Dr. Jill Biden and second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar were expected to attend the ceremony.
During the ceremony, Chief Justice John Roberts was expected to administer the judicial oath to Jackson. Breyer also administered the judicial oath to Jackson in late June.
The high court ended its last term, Breyer’s last as a justice, with blockbuster rulings ending the constitutional right to an abortion, expanding gun rights and curbing the power of the Environenmental Protection Agency to combat climate change.
In it new term, Jackson’s first, the justices will weigh in on race-conscious admissions policies at selective universities, voting rights and federal elections, and anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people.
They will also welcome members of the public to oral arguments for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic and provide live audio of scheduled arguments for the new term. The high court began providing audio of its arguments after the pandemic closed the courtroom and continued to do so through its most recent term.
