TAMPA -- A woman who grew up in Florida could be the favorite to succeed a retiring Supreme Court justice.
Stephen Breyer is stepping down from the high court at the age of 83. President Biden has pledged to name an African-American woman to the high court.
WMU-Cooley Law School Tampa professor Brendan Beery expects to hear the name Ketanji Brown Jackson, a graduate of Miami Palmetto High School who sits on the D-C Court of Appeals. "It's the most important Court of Appeals in the country, because of the types of cases that arise in the District of Columbia, having to do with federal authority and things like that," Beery said.
Jackson also clerked for Breyer.
Beery believes Breyer chose to retire so that his successor could be nominated and confirmed before the midterms, when Republicans have a strong chance of retaking a majority in the 50-50 Senate. Activists were campaigning for Breyer to step down, even driving trucks around the Supreme Court building urging him to retire. Beery says they were influenced by the example of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who thought she could outlast former President Trump, but died just before the 2020 election, allowing Trump and the then Republican-controlled Senate to name Amy Coney Barrett to succeed her and reshape the balance of the court.
Listen to an interview with Professor Brendan Beery below:
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