Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wades into questioning about murky wetlands dispute as Supreme Court opens new term
The Supreme Court, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on board as its newest member, opens its nine-month term on Monday by hearing a conservative challenge
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court opened its nine-month term Monday by hearing a conservative challenge to the federal government’s authority to regulate wetlands under a landmark environmental protection law, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson asking multiple questions on her first day on the bench.
Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the court, was quick off the mark, asking a series of questions early on in the nearly two hours of arguments indicating sympathy for maintaining expansive federal authority over wetlands. The conservative majority seemed more skeptical, although there appeared to be no consensus about how to draw a line that would limit federal jurisdiction over sometimes hard-to-define patches of wetland.
Jackson seemed eager to get to the nub of a notoriously complex issue about the scope of the federal Clean Water Act, at one point saying, "Let me try to bring some enlightenment to it." Later on, she politely apologized for asking a follow-up question after a lengthy back-and-forth with a lawyer for Idaho landowners Chantell and Mike Sackett, who want to build on a property the government has deemed to be a wetland.
Jackson's line of questioning was similar to that of the court's two other liberal justices, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor.
Nominated by President Joe Biden, Jackson was sworn into office over the summer. The oral argument also marked the first time in history that four female justices had sat together on the bench.
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