What The Voting Rights Act And Civil Rights Act Mean To Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson

[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE] >> Stephen: WELCOME BACK, EVERYBODY. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MY GUEST TONIGHT HAS MADE HISTORY AS THE FIRST BLACK WOMAN TO SERVE ON THE U.S. SUPREME COURT AND HAS JUST WRITTEN A BOOK ABOUT HER LIFE CALLED "LOVELY ONE." PLEASE WELCOME TO "THE LATE SHOW," SUPREME COURT JUSTICE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON. [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE] ♪ ♪ [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE] ♪ ♪ >> Justice Brown Jackson: THANK YOU. [CHEERING] THANK YOU. [CHEERING] THANK YOU. >> Stephen: I ASSUME. PLEASE HAVE A SEAT, EVERYBODY. WELCOME TO THE SHOW. I ASSUME THAT'S THE GREETING YOU GET AT THE SUPREME COURT. >> Justice Brown Jackson: EVERY DAY. >> Stephen: WELL, LOVELY TO HAVE YOU ON. NICE TO MEET YOU. I WAS LIKE TALKING TO SUPREME COURT JUSTICES WHETHER STILL ON THE BENCH OR JUSTICE BREYER WHO HAS COME BY A COUPLE TIMES SINCE HE HAS LEFT THE CHAIR. IT'S ALWAYS FASCINATING TO TALK TO SUPREME COURT JUSTICES EVEN THOUGH I KNOW IN THIS CONVERSATION YOU'RE GOING TO FRUSTRATE ME TO KNOW END WHEN YOU DON'T ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT CASES THAT ARE BEFORE THE COURT. >> Justice Brown Jackson: UNFORTUNATELY THAT IS A LIMITATION PERIOD SUE AND I HOPE I DON'T FRUSTRATE YOU TOO MUCH WHEN I ASKED THEM ANYWAY. >> Justice Brown Jackson: OK OKAY. >> Stephen: YOU HAVE A NEW BOOK. IT'S CALLED "LOVELY ONE," THE TRANSLATION OF YOUR MIDDLE NAME. >> Justice Brown Jackson: MY PHONE NAME. MY FIRST AND MIDDLE NAME IS AN AFRICAN NAME THAT MY PARENTS GAVE TO ME WHEN I WAS BORN. MY AUNT WAS IN THE PEACE CORPS IN AFRICA AND MY MOTHER WANTED TO EXPRESS PRIDE IN OUR AFRICAN HERITAGE SO KETANJI ONYIKA MEANS "LOVELY ONE." >> Stephen: YOU SHARE SOMETHING YOU DON'T SEE OFTEN. YOU STATE EVEN BACK IN HIGH SCHOOL YOU DREAMED OF BECOMING A FEDERAL JUDGE. HERE YOU ARE IN YOUR HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR YEAR HALL OF FAME. IT SAYS "REGARDING HER FUTURE, KETANJI SET I WANT TO GO INTO LAW AND EVENTUALLY HAVE A JUDICIAL APPOINTMENT." >> Justice Brown Jackson: YES, IN HIGH SCHOOL. >> Stephen: YOU DIDN'T SAY "BE A JUDGE." YOU SAID "HAVE A JUDICIAL APPOINTMENT." TAKING IT SERIOUSLY AT A YOUNG AGE. >> Justice Brown Jackson: I WAS ALREADY CHOOSING MY WORDS CAREFULLY. >> Stephen: WHAT WAS IT ABOUT HAVING A JUDICIAL APPOINTMENT THAT APPEALED TO YOU SO MUCH? >> Justice Brown Jackson: I HAD HEARD OF CONSTANCE BAKER MOLLY, FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN FEMALE JUDGE ON THE FEDERAL BENCH. WE HAPPEN TO SHARE A BIRTHDAY. IT WAS SO MOTIVATIONAL FOR ME AS A MIDDLE SCHOOL ARE, I JUST THOUGHT BEING A JUDGE WAS THE COOLEST THING. >> Stephen: YOU RIGHT ALSO IN THE BOOK HOW THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT AND THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT WERE SO IMPORTANT TO YOU AS A CHILD. I KNOW YOU CAN'T SHARE YOUR OPINION OF JUSTICE ROBERTS TAKING A CHAINSAW TO THOSE. BUT WHY WERE THEY, WHY WERE THEY SO MEANINGFUL TO YOU? I'M CURIOUS WHAT YOU THINK OF JUSTICE GINSBURG'S INTERPRETATION OF THE ARGUMENT THAT WAS MADE BY THE MAJORITY THAT WELL, WE DON'T REALLY NEED THE ENTIRETY OF THESE ACTS ANYMORE BECAUSE RACISM ISN'T AS INFLUENTIAL IN OUR VOTING OR IN OUR EXPRESSED PUBLIC RIGHTS ANYMORE. SHE SAID IT'S LIKE SAYING WELL, I'M NOT GETTING WET SO LET'S GET RIDOF ALL UMBRELLAS. >> Justice Brown Jackson: SHE DID SAY THAT. I WOULD SAY THAT THESE ACTS WERE VERY IMPORTANT TO ME IN PARTICULAR BECAUSE I WAS BORN WITHIN FIVE YEARS OR SO OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT AND THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT. AND MY PARENTS HAD GROWN UP UNDER SEGREGATION AND WHEN I WAS BORN, IT WAS LIKE A DOOR BEING OPENED TO HAVE THESE LAWS THAT ALLOWED FOR BLACK PEOPLE TO DO ANYTHING AND TO BE A FULL PART OF OUR COMMUNITY. SO MY PARENTS REALLY INVESTED IN ME. THEY SAID THIS IS OUR OPPORTUNITY REALLY. ALL THE STUFF THAT WE DIDN'T GET TO DO GROWING UP, NOW WE WANT OUR DAUGHTERS TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. SO I CREDIT THAT WITH MY SUCC SUCCESS. >> Stephen: WERE THEY IN SOME WAYS AN UMBRELLA FOR YOUR FAMILY? >> Justice Brown Jackson: THEY WERE INDEED. IT'S A NICE METAPHOR. >> Stephen: YEAH. SO YOU AGREE WITH JUSTICE GINSBURG DISSENT IN THESE CASES WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? OKAY. ALL RIGHT. >> Justice Brown Jackson: I'M NOT GOING TO ANSWER. >> Stephen: JUSTICE BREYER WAS A MENTOR OF YOURS. >> Justice Brown Jackson: VERY MUCH SO. I CLERKED FOR HIM. I HAVE A GREAT GOOD FORTUNE OF GETTING TO SEE HIM IN HIS BICYCLE SHORTS WHEN HE WOULD COME INTO THE COURT. >> Stephen: I'M SORRY. DOES THE SUPREME COURT NOT HAVE H.R.? I DON'T UNDERSTAND. WELL, I ALWAYS ENJOYED TALKING TO HIM SO WAS A GOOD CONVERSATION. HE HAS PUBLICLY READ MANY TIMES ABOUT THE COURT THING PERCEIVED AS POLITICAL. HE REPORTS THAT ONLY 18% OF AMERICANS BELIEVE THAT SCOTUS KEEPS POLITICS OUT OF RULINGS. DO YOU SHARE YOUR MENTORS CONCERNS ABOUT THIS PUBLIC PERCEPTION? >> Justice Brown Jackson: WELL, I'M AWARE THAT THAT IS THE PUBLIC PERCEPTION. AND I THINK IT'S PROBLEMATIC FOR THE COURT THAT'S A PERCEPTION THAT THE PUBLIC CAPS. BECAUSE WE REALLY RELY ON PUBLIC TRUST IN ORDER TO DO OUR JOBS. >> Stephen: YOUR LEGITIMACY COMES FROM THE PUBLIC'S PERCEPTION. >> Justice Brown Jackson: I THINK SO. YES. IT'S A CONCERN. >> Stephen: WHAT DO YOU THINK CONCERN? WAY TO ADDRESS THAT- >> Justice Brown Jackson: I THINK I AM DOING MY BEST TO DO WHAT JUDGES DO, WHAT JUSTICE BREYER MODELED FOR ME WHEN I WAS A LAW CLERK FOR HIM. HAVING INTEGRITY, SEPARATING OUT MY PERSONAL VIEWS, STAYING IN MY LANE. >> Stephen: HOW DO YOU SEPARATE YOUR OWN PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY OR YOUR POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY, WHICH IS INFLUENCED BY YOUR PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY, FROM YOUR JUDICIAL PHILOSOPHY? HOW DO SEPARATE A STATUE FROM THE MARBLE IT'S MADE OF? >> Justice Brown Jackson: IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO AS A LAWYER AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU PRACTICE AS A LAW CLERK. WHEN YOU ARE CLICKING FOR A JUDGE, YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR HELPING TO DRAFT THEIR OPINIONS AND SOMETIMES YOU MAY DISAGREE WITH WHAT YOU'RE DOING BUT YOU HAVE TO DO YOUR BEST TO WRITE IN THEIR VOICE AND PUT OUT LEGAL RULINGS IN THE WAY THAT THEY WOULD DO IT. SO YOU LEARN HOW TO SEPARATE OUT YOUR OWN VIEWS FROM THAT OF THE LAW AND THE THINGS THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON. >> Stephen: ARE YOU CONFIDENT THAT ALL OF THE JUSTICES SHARE THAT IDEA? >> Justice Brown Jackson: YES, I AM. >> Stephen: I DON'T KNOW WHY THAT'S A JOKE TO YOU PEOPLE. SIMPLE QUESTION PER FOLLOW-UP QUESTION, DO YOU HAVE ANY FLAGS YOU LIKE TO FLY? [LAUGHTER] [CHEERING] LIKE AT THANKSGIVING WOULD YOU PUT A TURKEY FLAKE OUT FRONT? SOME PEOPLE LIKE TO DO THAT. >> Justice Brown Jackson: NO COMMENT. >> Stephen: WE HAVE TO TAKE A QUICK BREAK. WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH MORE SUPREME COURT JUSTICE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON, EVERYBODY. STICK AROUND.