Justice Jackson says 'the state of our democracy' keeps her up at night

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said Thursday that “the state of our democracy” keeps her awake at night.

Speaking at an Indiana bar association event, the newest justice on the high court told the audience that she wants to draw attention to what is going on in the government, according to The New York Times.

“I would say that I am very interested in getting people to focus and to invest and to pay attention to what is happening in our country and in our government,” Justice Jackson said, Spectrum News 1 reported.

She took some questions during the lunch event.

Justice Jackson has become the member of the high court who speaks the most during oral arguments and has issued several dissents, disagreeing with the GOP majority.

“There are sometimes when, even after the principal dissent is written, I have a slightly different perspective or a different take on something or this is an issue of particular importance to me,” Justice Jackson said. “I will say, ’Forgive me, Justice [Sonia] Sotomayor, but I need to write on this case,’ and it’s because I feel like I might have something to offer and something to add, and I’m not afraid to use my voice.”

She said it doesn’t hurt her feelings when other justices disagree with her, because she has “very thick skin.”

Justice Jackson had a pointed exchange with Justice Amy Coney Barrett during the Court’s final day of the 2024-2025 term in the case of Trump v. CASA, which dealt with birthright citizenship and the authority of lower court judges to issue nationwide injunctions.

Justice Barrett, writing for the majority, said that district court judges likely lack the authority to issue nationwide injunctions.

Justice Jackson said in her dissent that her colleagues had given the president a pass to avoid judicial scrutiny, leading to “the kind of unchecked, arbitrary power the Founders crafted our Constitution to eradicate.”

Justice Barrett shot back, saying there was no need to “dwell” on Justice Jackson’s argument.

“Waving away attention to the limits on judicial power as a ‘mind-numbingly technical query,’ she offers a vision of the judicial role that would make even the most ardent defender of judicial supremacy blush,” Justice Barrett wrote.