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Politics

Confirmation Puts Jackson in a Unique Position: Justice-in-Waiting

  • Senate confirms her but Breyer won’t retire until term ends
  • First Black woman justice won’t hear first case until October
Ketanji Brown Jackson during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on March 21. 

Ketanji Brown Jackson during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on March 21. 

Photographer: Michael A. McCoy/Bloomberg
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Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson suddenly finds herself with a lot of time on her hands now that the Senate has confirmed her to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The busiest six weeks of Jackson’s life are set to turn into a three-month wait to fill a Supreme Court seat that won’t open until late June or early July. Justice Stephen Breyer said in January he will retire when the court’s current term ends.