Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is expected to be confirmed to the Supreme Court by the US Senate today.

When she is sworn in this summer, Jackson will be the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States.

Jackson's confirmation is expected to receive votes from all 50 Senate Democrats, as well as the two independents who are part of their caucus.

At least three Republicans will join them: Utah Senator Mitt Romney, Maine Senator Susan Collins, and Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski.&nbsp;

Judge Jackson is a Harvard Law School and Harvard Association graduate.

Her nomination also brought attention to the fact that black women are underrepresented in the legal profession.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/black-lives-matter-leaders-used-6-million-donation-to-buy-luxury-mansion-in-us-report-468649">Also read | Black Lives Matter leaders used $6 million donation to buy luxury mansion in US: Report</a>

Only 4.7 percent of lawyers are African-American, and only 70 Black women have ever served as federal judges, accounting for less than 2% of all federal judges.

About 4.8 percent of individuals enrolled in Harvard's law department, or 84 people, identified as black women as of October, compared to only 33 black women in 1996, when Judge Jackson graduated.

Republican senators grilled her for more than 22 hours over two days about the sentences she has handed down to child pornography offenders during her nine years as a federal judge, her legal advocacy on behalf of terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, her thoughts on critical race theory, and even her religious beliefs.

When asked if she would recuse herself from a matter involving affirmative action at Harvard University, where she now serves on the Board of Overseers, Jackson indicated she would.

When Texas Senator Ted Cruz asked her about it, she replied, "That's my plan."&nbsp;

US President Biden made a significant campaign pledge to name the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, and Jackson's confirmation fulfils that commitment.

Jackson, 51, worked as a federal trial court judge for eight years before being confirmed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in June.

Jackson worked as a public defender before becoming a judge.

If confirmed, Jackson will be the first Supreme Court justice to represent indigent criminal defendants since Thurgood Marshall.

(With inputs from agencies)

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is expected to be confirmed to the Supreme Court by the US Senate today. When she is sworn in this summer, Jackson will be the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is expected to be confirmed to the Supreme Court by the US Senate today. When she is sworn in this summer, Jackson will be the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Jackson's confirmation is expected to receive votes from all 50 Senate Democrats, as well as the two independents who are part of their caucus. At least three Republicans will join them: Utah Senator Mitt Romney, Maine Senator Susan Collins, and Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski. Judge Jackson is a Harvard Law School and Harvard Association graduate. Her nomination also brought attention to the fact that black women are underrepresented in the legal profession. Also read | Black Lives Matter leaders used $6 million donation to buy luxury mansion in US: Report Only 4.7 percent of lawyers are African-American, and only 70 Black women have ever served as federal judges, accounting for less than 2% of all federal judges. About 4.8 percent of individuals enrolled in Harvard's law department, or 84 people, identified as black women as of October, compared to only 33 black women in 1996, when Judge Jackson graduated. Republican senators grilled her for more than 22 hours over two days about the sentences she has handed down to child pornography offenders during her nine years as a federal judge, her legal advocacy on behalf of terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, her thoughts on critical race theory, and even her religious beliefs. When asked if she would recuse herself from a matter involving affirmative action at Harvard University, where she now serves on the Board of Overseers, Jackson indicated she would. When Texas Senator Ted Cruz asked her about it, she replied, "That's my plan." US President Biden made a significant campaign pledge to name the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, and Jackson's confirmation fulfils that commitment. Jackson, 51, worked as a federal trial court judge for eight years before being confirmed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in June. Jackson worked as a public defender before becoming a judge. If confirmed, Jackson will be the first Supreme Court justice to represent indigent criminal defendants since Thurgood Marshall. (With inputs from agencies)

Ketanji Brown Jackson: The first Black woman to be US Supreme Court judge

US judiciary committee approves Amy Coney Barrett nomination. The committee's approval for Amy Coney Barrett for Donald Trump's Supreme Court choice has cleared the way for full senate vote.

US judiciary committee approves Amy Coney Barrett nomination for Supreme Court

Democrats in the house of representatives are preparing a bill to limit the tenure of US Supreme Court Justices to 18 years. The bill is likely to be introduce next week.

US democrats preparing bill to limit SC judges' term

Despite rows of criticism and the last wish of the US Supreme Court judge&nbsp;Ruth Bader Ginsburg, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> has decided to nominate another judge as her replacement.

An inspiration to many and known for her fight against the wrongs of sexual discrimination and other patriarchal principles,&nbsp;Ruth Bader Ginsburg, passed away yesterday after fighting a long battle with&nbsp;pancreatic cancer.

Her last wish, recorded by her&nbsp;granddaughter Clara Spera, was to not be replaced by the current President of the United States. "My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed," she told her granddaughter.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/supreme-court-judge-ruth-bader-ginsburg-dies-at-87-wanted-to-see-trump-lose-in-us-elections-328526">Also read:&nbsp;Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies at 87; wanted to see Trump lose in US elections</a>

However, immediately after her death, the&nbsp;US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell&nbsp;announced that the chamber would vote for a nominee that Trump would name. "President Trump's nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate," McConnell said.

Later, Trump, too, announced that he would be nominating someone next week to replace the 'Notorious RBG'.

"I will be putting forth a nominee next week. It will be a woman," Trump said at a campaign rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina. "I think it should be a woman because I actually like women much more than men."

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As of now he has named Amy Coney Barrett of the Chicago-based 7th Circuit and Barbara Lagoa of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit as possible nominees. He is expected to reveal the third name soon. An official announcement is expected next week.

The decision has not been supported by Biden who feels&nbsp;"that the voters should pick the president and the president should pick the justice for the Senate to consider."

Despite rows of criticism and the last wish of the US Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Donald Trump has decided to nominate another judge as her replacement.

Despite rows of criticism and the last wish of the US Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Donald Trump has decided to nominate another judge as her replacement. An inspiration to many and known for her fight against the wrongs of sexual discrimination and other patriarchal principles, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, passed away yesterday after fighting a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Her last wish, recorded by her granddaughter Clara Spera, was to not be replaced by the current President of the United States. "My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed," she told her granddaughter. Also read: Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies at 87; wanted to see Trump lose in US elections However, immediately after her death, the US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell announced that the chamber would vote for a nominee that Trump would name. "President Trump's nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate," McConnell said. Later, Trump, too, announced that he would be nominating someone next week to replace the 'Notorious RBG'. "I will be putting forth a nominee next week. It will be a woman," Trump said at a campaign rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina. "I think it should be a woman because I actually like women much more than men." × As of now he has named Amy Coney Barrett of the Chicago-based 7th Circuit and Barbara Lagoa of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit as possible nominees. He is expected to reveal the third name soon. An official announcement is expected next week. The decision has not been supported by Biden who feels "that the voters should pick the president and the president should pick the justice for the Senate to consider."

Trump to nominate a woman to replace Ginsburg stating he likes 'women more'

President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated Neil Gorsuch for a lifetime job on the US Supreme Court, picking the 49-year-old federal appeals court judge to restore the court&#39;s conservative majority and help shape rulings on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control, the death penalty and religious rights.

The Colorado native faces a potentially contentious confirmation battle in the US Senate after Republicans last year refused to consider Democratic President Barack Obama&#39;s nominee to fill the vacancy caused by the February 2016 death of conservative justice Antonin Scalia.

Gorsuch is the youngest nominee to the nation&#39;s highest court in more than a quarter century, and he could influence the direction of the court for decades.

&quot;Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline, and has earned bipartisan support,&quot; Trump said.

&quot;Depending on their age, a justice can be active for 50 years. And his or her decisions can last a century or more, and can often be permanent,&quot; Trump added.

Trump during his presidency may get to make additional appointments to the Supreme Court. Liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who Trump called upon to resign last July after she called him &quot;a faker,&quot; is 83 while Kennedy is 80. Stephen Breyer, another liberal, is 78.

&nbsp;

Gorsuch is a judge on the Denver-based 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals and was appointed to that post by Republican President George W&nbsp;Bush in 2006.

Some Democrats in the US Senate, which votes on whether to confirm judicial nominees, have already said they would seek to block whoever Trump nominates.

Gorsuch is considered a conservative intellectual, known for backing religious rights, and is seen as very much in the mold of Scalia, a leading conservative voice on the court for decades.

A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the choice of Gorsuch was seen by the White House as a significant departure from Supreme Court nominations from the recent past, given that many justices have come from the eastern United States. Gorsuch lives in Boulder, Colorado, where he raises horses and is a life-long outdoorsman.

The official described Gorsuch as a mainstream judge who should easily be confirmed by the Senate. The official noted that the Senate confirmed him for his current judgeship in 2006 by voice vote with no one voting against him.

&nbsp;

&quot;He plays it straight. He sticks to principles, and his opinions reflect a consistency regardless of who is in his courtroom,&quot; the official said of Gorsuch.

Trump made his choice between two US&nbsp;appeals court judges, Gorsuch and Thomas Hardiman of the Philadelphia-based 3rd US&nbsp;Circuit Court of Appeals, according to a source involved in the selection process.

Gorsuch became the youngest US&nbsp;Supreme Court nominee since Republican President George HW&nbsp;Bush in 1991 selected conservative Clarence Thomas, who was 43 at the time.

He is the son of Anne Burford, the first woman to head the US&nbsp;Environmental Protection Agency. She served in Republican President Ronald Reagan&#39;s administration but resigned in 1983 amid a fight with Congress over documents on the EPA&#39;s use of a fund created to clean up toxic waste dumps nationwide.

Trump&#39;s selection was one of the most consequential appointments of his young presidency as he moved to restore a conservative majority on the Supreme Court that had been in place for decades until Scalia died at age 79 on February&nbsp;13, 2016.

Trump, who took office on January&nbsp;20, got the opportunity to name Scalia&#39;s replacement only because the Republican-led US&nbsp;Senate, in an action with little precedent in US&nbsp;history, refused to consider Obama&#39;s nominee for the post, appeals court judge Merrick Garland. Obama nominated Garland on March 16 but Republican senators led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell denied Garland the customary confirmation hearings and vote.

Trump has said his promise to appoint a conservative justice was one of the reasons he won the November&nbsp;8 presidential election, with Christian conservatives and others emphasising the importance of the pick during the campaign. Trump last week said evangelical Christians would love his nominee.

Trump&#39;s fellow Republicans hold a 52-48 majority in the Senate. The minority Democrats, irate over Garland&#39;s rebuff, potentially could try to block the nomination with procedural hurdles.

The new appointee would expand the court&#39;s conservative wing, made up of John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. Kennedy long has been considered the court&#39;s pivotal vote, sometimes siding with the liberals in key cases such as the June 2016 ruling striking down abortion restrictions in Texas.

The court&#39;s restored conservative majority likely would be supportive toward the death penalty and gun rights and hostile toward campaign finance limits. Scalia&#39;s replacement also could be pivotal in cases involving abortion, religious rights, presidential powers, transgender rights, voting rights, federal regulations others.

Gorsuch has strong academic qualifications, with an Ivy League education: attending Columbia University and, like several of the other justices on the court, Harvard Law School. He also completed a doctorate in legal philosophy at Oxford University, spent several years in private practice and worked in George W&nbsp;Bush&#39;s Justice Department.

Gorsuch joined an opinion in 2013 saying that owners of private companies could object on religious grounds to a provision of the Obamacare health insurance law requiring employers to provide coverage for birth control for women.

As long as Kennedy and four liberals remain on the bench, the court is not expected to pare back abortion rights as many US&nbsp;conservatives fervently hope. The Supreme Court legalised abortion in the landmark 1973 Roe v&nbsp;Wade ruling. In June, the justices ruled 5-3 to strike down a Texas law that restricted abortion access, with Kennedy and the liberals in the majority.

The current vacancy is the court&#39;s longest since a 391-day void from 1969 to 1970 during Republican Richard Nixon&#39;s presidency. After Abe Fortas resigned from the court in May 1969, the Senate voted down two nominees put forward by Nixon before confirming Harry Blackmun, who became a justice in June 1970. Aside from that one, no other Supreme Court vacancy since the US&nbsp;Civil War years of the 1860s has been as long as the current one.

&nbsp;

Advocacy groups geared up for a fight

Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative legal advocacy group, said it would launch the first part of a $10 million media advertisement campaign on Tuesday night in favour of Trump&#39;s pick. The effort will hold Senate Democrats who face election in 2018 &quot;accountable for their choice&quot; on the Supreme Court, the group said.

Liberal groups including People For the American Way and abortion rights advocate NARAL Pro-Choice America planned a nighttime rally in opposition to Trump&#39;s nominee outside the Supreme Court after the announcement.

Some Democrats have threatened to pursue a procedural hurdle called a filibuster, meaning 60 votes would be needed in the 100-seat Senate unless its long-standing rules are changed. Trump&#39;s fellow Republicans hold a 52-48 majority, meaning some Democratic votes would be needed to confirm his pick.

Trump said last week he would favour Senate Republicans eliminating the filibuster, a change dubbed the &quot;nuclear option,&quot; for Supreme Court nominees if Democrats block his pick.

If any of those three is replaced by a Trump appointee, conservatives would be eager to bring cases challenging the Roe v&nbsp;Wade ruling in the hope it would be overturned, long a goal for many Christian conservatives.

(Reuters)

He faces a potentially contentious confirmation battle in the US Senate after Republicans last year refused to consider Obama's nomination

President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated Neil Gorsuch for a lifetime job on the US Supreme Court, picking the 49-year-old federal appeals court judge to restore the court's conservative majority and help shape rulings on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control, the death penalty and religious rights. The Colorado native faces a potentially contentious confirmation battle in the US Senate after Republicans last year refused to consider Democratic President Barack Obama's nominee to fill the vacancy caused by the February 2016 death of conservative justice Antonin Scalia. Gorsuch is the youngest nominee to the nation's highest court in more than a quarter century, and he could influence the direction of the court for decades. "Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline, and has earned bipartisan support," Trump said. "Depending on their age, a justice can be active for 50 years. And his or her decisions can last a century or more, and can often be permanent," Trump added. Trump during his presidency may get to make additional appointments to the Supreme Court. Liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who Trump called upon to resign last July after she called him "a faker," is 83 while Kennedy is 80. Stephen Breyer, another liberal, is 78. Gorsuch is a judge on the Denver-based 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals and was appointed to that post by Republican President George W Bush in 2006. Some Democrats in the US Senate, which votes on whether to confirm judicial nominees, have already said they would seek to block whoever Trump nominates. Gorsuch is considered a conservative intellectual, known for backing religious rights, and is seen as very much in the mold of Scalia, a leading conservative voice on the court for decades. A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the choice of Gorsuch was seen by the White House as a significant departure from Supreme Court nominations from the recent past, given that many justices have come from the eastern United States. Gorsuch lives in Boulder, Colorado, where he raises horses and is a life-long outdoorsman. The official described Gorsuch as a mainstream judge who should easily be confirmed by the Senate. The official noted that the Senate confirmed him for his current judgeship in 2006 by voice vote with no one voting against him. "He plays it straight. He sticks to principles, and his opinions reflect a consistency regardless of who is in his courtroom," the official said of Gorsuch. Trump made his choice between two US appeals court judges, Gorsuch and Thomas Hardiman of the Philadelphia-based 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals, according to a source involved in the selection process. Gorsuch became the youngest US Supreme Court nominee since Republican President George HW Bush in 1991 selected conservative Clarence Thomas, who was 43 at the time. He is the son of Anne Burford, the first woman to head the US Environmental Protection Agency. She served in Republican President Ronald Reagan's administration but resigned in 1983 amid a fight with Congress over documents on the EPA's use of a fund created to clean up toxic waste dumps nationwide. Trump's selection was one of the most consequential appointments of his young presidency as he moved to restore a conservative majority on the Supreme Court that had been in place for decades until Scalia died at age 79 on February 13, 2016. Trump, who took office on January 20, got the opportunity to name Scalia's replacement only because the Republican-led US Senate, in an action with little precedent in US history, refused to consider Obama's nominee for the post, appeals court judge Merrick Garland. Obama nominated Garland on March 16 but Republican senators led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell denied Garland the customary confirmation hearings and vote. Trump has said his promise to appoint a conservative justice was one of the reasons he won the November 8 presidential election, with Christian conservatives and others emphasising the importance of the pick during the campaign. Trump last week said evangelical Christians would love his nominee. Trump's fellow Republicans hold a 52-48 majority in the Senate. The minority Democrats, irate over Garland's rebuff, potentially could try to block the nomination with procedural hurdles. The new appointee would expand the court's conservative wing, made up of John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. Kennedy long has been considered the court's pivotal vote, sometimes siding with the liberals in key cases such as the June 2016 ruling striking down abortion restrictions in Texas. The court's restored conservative majority likely would be supportive toward the death penalty and gun rights and hostile toward campaign finance limits. Scalia's replacement also could be pivotal in cases involving abortion, religious rights, presidential powers, transgender rights, voting rights, federal regulations others. Gorsuch has strong academic qualifications, with an Ivy League education: attending Columbia University and, like several of the other justices on the court, Harvard Law School. He also completed a doctorate in legal philosophy at Oxford University, spent several years in private practice and worked in George W Bush's Justice Department. Gorsuch joined an opinion in 2013 saying that owners of private companies could object on religious grounds to a provision of the Obamacare health insurance law requiring employers to provide coverage for birth control for women. As long as Kennedy and four liberals remain on the bench, the court is not expected to pare back abortion rights as many US conservatives fervently hope. The Supreme Court legalised abortion in the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling. In June, the justices ruled 5-3 to strike down a Texas law that restricted abortion access, with Kennedy and the liberals in the majority. The current vacancy is the court's longest since a 391-day void from 1969 to 1970 during Republican Richard Nixon's presidency. After Abe Fortas resigned from the court in May 1969, the Senate voted down two nominees put forward by Nixon before confirming Harry Blackmun, who became a justice in June 1970. Aside from that one, no other Supreme Court vacancy since the US Civil War years of the 1860s has been as long as the current one. Advocacy groups geared up for a fight Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative legal advocacy group, said it would launch the first part of a $10 million media advertisement campaign on Tuesday night in favour of Trump's pick. The effort will hold Senate Democrats who face election in 2018 "accountable for their choice" on the Supreme Court, the group said. Liberal groups including People For the American Way and abortion rights advocate NARAL Pro-Choice America planned a nighttime rally in opposition to Trump's nominee outside the Supreme Court after the announcement. Some Democrats have threatened to pursue a procedural hurdle called a filibuster, meaning 60 votes would be needed in the 100-seat Senate unless its long-standing rules are changed. Trump's fellow Republicans hold a 52-48 majority, meaning some Democratic votes would be needed to confirm his pick. Trump said last week he would favour Senate Republicans eliminating the filibuster, a change dubbed the "nuclear option," for Supreme Court nominees if Democrats block his pick. If any of those three is replaced by a Trump appointee, conservatives would be eager to bring cases challenging the Roe v Wade ruling in the hope it would be overturned, long a goal for many Christian conservatives. (Reuters)

Trump nominates conservative judge Gorsuch for US Supreme Court