Jackson will become the 116th member of the court. This is special for Troutman, who is also the 116th member of her court. “As a judge, as a black woman, I’m extremely proud and I wish her all the best,” said Troutman, who took office earlier this year and is the second black woman to serve in her court. He said he cried “tears of joy” on Thursday when Jackson was confirmed. Troutman is among 17 black women and 14 black men currently serving on their state’s highest court, according to the Brennan Justice Center in New York, which has been monitoring the diversity in those courts. The majority of women have been on the bench for the past five years and, like Jackson, broke a barrier, becoming the first black woman in their state’s highest court. In interviews, some of these women not only described their joy at confirming Jackson, but also suggested that more work should be done to make American courts more reflective of its citizens. “I’m so proud and optimistic about her achievement and what it means,” said Judge Melissa Long of the Rhode Island Supreme Court. Long, who joined her state’s highest court in 2021, also feels a “great sense of connection” with Jackson. Born 10 days apart in 1970 in Washington, Long’s parents were married in the city because anti-interracial marriage laws, repealed by the Supreme Court in 1967, barred them from marrying in Virginia. Being the first black woman and the first woman of color in her state’s five-member court “feels like a responsibility,” Long said. “It’s an important responsibility, but it feels like a responsibility.” This is partly because there is a lack of diversity in state courts as a whole. Colored people make up 17% of the judges in state supreme courts, but since last year, 22 states have had supreme courts where no member has been identified as a colored person, according to the Brennan Center. In 11 of these states, minorities make up at least 20% of the population, according to the Brennan Center. About 30% of all federal judges, meanwhile, identify as colored. These numbers explain why Brennan Center Madiba Dennie says she is wary of people who think Jackson’s affirmation means: “We did it. “We have a black woman in the Supreme Court now.” More work needs to be done, he said, with “huge inequalities throughout the rest of federal justice, as well as in state justice.” The history of black women serving in their state’s highest court dates back to 1988 when Juanita Kidd Stout joined the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. It was seven years after Judge Sandra Day O’Connor became the first woman in the US Supreme Court. Stout served for one year before reaching the mandatory retirement age. Today, the four men and three women in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court are all white. Other state supreme courts are different. Maryland has two black women in its highest court, the Court of Appeals, where members wear red robes with white collars and are called judges, not justice. Judge Shirley M. Watts joined the seven-member tribunal in 2013 and Judge Michele D. Hotten in 2015. In California, Judge Leondra Kruger was among the women President Joe Biden considered proposing to fulfill his campaign promise to put a black woman on the Supreme Court if given the chance. In Ohio, Justice Melody Stewart was a classically trained pianist before making the transition to a legal career. And in Washington, Judge G. Helen Whitener is one of two gay judges and one of seven women on the state’s nine-member Supreme Court. In Massachusetts, Kimberly Budd has served as its Supreme Court justice, a position she has held since 2020. North Carolina Cheri Beasley has served as the state’s supreme judge and is now the leading candidate in the Democratic primary. of the US Senate in 2022. Louisiana also had until recently a black woman presiding over its supreme court. Bernette Johnson was elected to the court in 1994 and served as head of the court from 2013 until her retirement in 2020. Today, Judge Piper D. Griffin is the second black woman and the third black to serve on this court. Griffin called Jackson’s affirmation “surreal” and “humiliating.” “It was one of those things you never thought you would ever see in your life. “You know, he’s kind of like you, you’re optimistic, but you never expect that,” said Griffin, who was elected in 2020. Griffin said her phone “exploded” Thursday afternoon when Jackson was confirmed. “I received many exclamations,” he said. A friend, knowing that Griffin could not watch Vice President Kamala Harris announce live that Jackson was confirmed, recorded the moment on her phone and texted her. Over and over again friends sent a word: Yes! Troutman, a judge in New York’s Supreme Court, said one of the things her daughter sent her that day was a photo of Jackson and the president cuddling. It’s important that Jackson is the first black woman in the Supreme Court, Troutman said, but “it’s very important not to be the last.”
