Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to discuss new memoir at upcoming event

By 
 August 21, 2024

Part of President Joe Biden's legacy was his selection of Ketanji Brown Jackson as the Supreme Court's first female African American justice.

That experience is one of the things Jackson is likely to discuss when she leaves Washington, D.C. next month for a speaking event in Cleveland. 

Jackson to talk about new memoir in upcoming "special conversation"

The City Club of Cleveland announced this week that it is hosting "a special conversation" by Jackson at 11:00 a.m. on September 16.

She is expected to talk about her upcoming book titled, "Lovely One: A Memoir," which recalls her rise from high school "oratory champion and student body president" to "graduating magna cum laude from Harvard."

The justice claims to reveal "what it takes to advance in the legal profession when most people in power don’t look like you" along with how to "reconcile a demanding career with the joys and sacrifices of marriage and motherhood."

Jackson's presentation will be held in the Huntington Convention Center grand ballroom and is scheduled to last for two hours.

Jackson: Government "has a duty" to remove "harmful" online information

Meanwhile, Fox News noted that Jackson "raised eyebrows" in March with comments she made about the federal government's power to regulate what people post on social media.

The justice's remarks were directed towards lawyers representing Louisiana, Missouri. and private plaintiffs in Murthy v. Biden.

While the attorneys argued that the Biden administration had violated the First Amendment by pressuring online platforms to take down posts concerning Hunter Biden’s laptop, COVID-19, and the efficacy of wearing face masks, Jackson said otherwise.

"Your view has the First Amendment hamstringing the federal government in significant ways in the most important time periods," Fox News quoted Jackson as saying.

"The government actually has a duty to take steps to protect the citizens of this country... by encouraging or even pressuring platforms to take down harmful information," she insisted.

Missouri AG says First Amendment should indeed "hamstring" government

For his part, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey told Fox News that the first part of Jackson's assessment was "absolutely right."

"It is hamstringing, and it's supposed to," Bailey declared. "The whole purpose of the Constitution is to protect us from the government, and the government exists to protect our rights."

"But here, the federal government is ignoring our First Amendment protections and weaponizing the federal government to silence our voices," the state attorney general went on to add.

" A free people [claim] their rights, as derived from the laws of nature."
Thomas Jefferson